Publications by authors named "Suzanne Crowley"

This clinical review article aims to describe symptoms and findings in cases of paediatric tracheobronchomalacia to help achieve the correct diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms and signs vary from reduced physical stamina, barking cough, productive cough and gurgling to obstructive episodes or episodes with stridor, which in some cases can be life-threatening. The range of symptoms overlaps with other pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, which increases the risk of misdiagnosis and treatment error.

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Background: The estimated prevalence of tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) in children is about 1:2100. Prevalence of intrathoracic malacia is higher in children with chronic lung disease such as bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis (CF) and may contribute to increased morbidity.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and assess clinical features of tracheomalacia (TM), TBM and bronchomalacia (BM) in patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD).

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Article Synopsis
  • Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic disorder that affects ciliary function, leading to airway clearance issues and sometimes organ positioning defects (laterality defects), with a study conducted across 19 countries to analyze gene defects and their clinical implications.
  • The study involved 1236 individuals with a variety of pathogenic DNA variants and found significant geographical differences in PCD genotypes, with varying rates of laterality defects and distinct genetic characteristics linked to different countries.
  • Results revealed that individuals with PCD often have lower lung function (measured by forced expiratory volume) and that the presence of certain genetic variants can correlate with more severe clinical outcomes, highlighting the importance of genetic understanding in diagnosing
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  • Tubulin is a key component of the cytoskeleton and has various isotypes in animals, but it's unclear how these isotypes influence microtubule structures in different cell types.
  • Research on 12 patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia and mouse models uncovered variants in the tubulin isotype that disrupted the formation of centrioles and cilia, impacting microtubule dynamics.
  • The study identified different variants causing distinct effects on tubulin interactions, allowing for the classification of patients into three types of ciliopathic diseases, highlighting the unique roles of specific tubulin isotypes in cellular functions.
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Introduction: Nearly all patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) report ear-nose-throat (ENT) symptoms. However, scarce evidence exists about how ENT symptoms relate to pulmonary disease in PCD. We explored possible associations between upper and lower respiratory disease among patients with PCD in a multicentre study.

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Background: Sinonasal symptoms are a common feature of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD); however, literature about their severity and frequency, particularly during the life course, is scarce. Using baseline data from the Ear, nose and throat (ENT) Prospective International Cohort of PCD patients, we describe sinonasal disease in PCD.

Methods: We included participants who had a routine sinonasal examination during which they completed a symptoms questionnaire.

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Article Synopsis
  • Otologic disease is prevalent among individuals with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), but detailed information regarding its severity and characteristics is limited.
  • A study analyzed data from 397 participants across 12 specialized centers to assess the prevalence of ear-related symptoms and findings, revealing significant ear pain, discharge, and hearing issues, particularly in adults.
  • Key findings included a high prevalence of otitis media with effusion, frequent reports of hearing impairment, and identifying autumn as a major risk factor for increased ear inflammation.
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Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is an inherited bone-marrow-failure disorder characterized by a triad of mucocutaneous features that include abnormal skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy, and oral leucoplakia. Despite the identification of several genetic variants that cause DC, a significant proportion of probands remain without a molecular diagnosis. In a cohort of eight independent DC-affected families, we have identified a remarkable series of heterozygous germline variants in the gene encoding thymidylate synthase (TYMS).

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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) can be defined as a multiorgan ciliopathy with a dominant element of chronic airway disease affecting the nose, sinuses, middle ear, and in particular, the lower airways. Although most patients with PCD are diagnosed during preschool years, it is obvious that the chronic lung disease starts its course already from birth. The many faces of the clinical picture change, as does lung function, structural lung damage, the burden of infection, and of treatment throughout life.

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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) presents with symptoms early in life and the disease course may be progressive, but longitudinal data on lung function are scarce. This multinational cohort study describes lung function trajectories in children, adolescents and young adults with PCD. We analysed data from 486 patients with repeated lung function measurements obtained between the age of 6 and 24 years from the International PCD Cohort and calculated z-scores for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV/FVC ratio using the Global Lung Function Initiative 2012 references.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The text discusses primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a condition that causes airway infections and lung damage, highlighting the lack of consensus on infection control among care centers.
  • - An international expert panel was formed to create a consensus statement on infection prevention and control (IP&C) for PCD, using a modified Delphi process to ensure at least 80% agreement on the statements.
  • - The resulting document presents 20 actionable recommendations for managing infection risks, including diagnostic microbiology, treatment guidelines, and patient segregation strategies, all tailored to current health concerns, including COVID-19.
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  • Ciliopathies are a group of genetic diseases that vary widely in symptoms; in this study, three patients from two families were diagnosed with Joubert syndrome, showing signs like abnormal breathing, developmental delays, and specific brain imaging results.
  • Researchers found that both families had loss-of-function mutations in the CBY1 gene, which is essential for cilia function, indicating a genetic link to the symptoms presented.
  • Further experiments demonstrated that the mutated CBY1 gene leads to issues in cilia formation and function in patient-derived cells, supporting the conclusion that these mutations cause a ciliopathy with Joubert syndrome features.
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Neonatal respiratory distress (NRD) is common among infants with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), but we do not know whether affected neonates receive a timely diagnosis. We used data from the international PCD cohort and assessed the proportion of patients with PCD who had a history of NRD and their age at diagnosis, stratifying by presence of laterality defects. First we analyzed data from all participants diagnosed after 2000, followed by individuals from a subgroup diagnosed using stricter criteria.

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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare inherited disease characterised by malfunctioning cilia leading to a heterogeneous clinical phenotype with many organ systems affected. There is a lack of data on clinical presentation, prognosis and effectiveness of treatments, making it mandatory to improve the scientific evidence base. This article reviews the data resources that are available in Europe for clinical and epidemiological research in PCD, namely established national PCD registries and national cohort studies, plus two large collaborative efforts (the international PCD (iPCD) Cohort and the International PCD Registry), and discusses their strengths, limitations and perspectives.

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Pulmonary exacerbations are a cause of significant morbidity in patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and are frequently used as an outcome measure in clinical research into chronic lung diseases. So far, there has been no consensus on the definition of pulmonary exacerbations in PCD. 30 multidisciplinary experts and patients developed a consensus definition for children and adults with PCD.

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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) has been considered a relatively mild disease, especially compared to cystic fibrosis (CF), but studies on lung function in PCD patients have been few and small.This study compared lung function from spirometry of PCD patients to normal reference values and to published data from CF patients. We calculated z-scores and % predicted values for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) and forced vital capacity (FVC) using the Global Lung Function Initiative 2012 values for 991 patients from the international PCD Cohort.

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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare disease causing motile cilia dysfunction, recurrent airway infection, and bronchiectasis. Airway infection management strategies are borrowed from cystic fibrosis. The aim of this study is to describe the management of airway infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( PA) in children and adults with PCD across European centers.

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