Clinical remission in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with mepolizumab: A analysis of RELIght study.

Remission of asthma can occur as part of the natural history of the disease; however, the use of biologics can result in disease remission in some patients. In this post hoc analysis of the RELIght study, we aimed to evaluate clinical remission in real life among patients treated with mepolizumab, to detect possible differences between "remitters" and "nonremitters," and to evaluate possible predictors of remission. Clinical remission was defined as the absence of asthma exacerbations, discontinuation of oral corticosteroids (OCS), achievement of asthma control (Asthma Control Test [ACT] ≥ 20), and stable or improved lung function.

Specification of Self-Adaptive Privacy-Related Requirements within Cloud Computing Environments (CCE).

This paper presents a novel approach to address the challenges of self-adaptive privacy in cloud computing environments (CCE). Under the Cloud-InSPiRe project, the aim is to provide an interdisciplinary framework and a beta-version tool for self-adaptive privacy design, effectively focusing on the integration of technical measures with social needs. To address that, a pilot taxonomy that aligns technical, infrastructural, and social requirements is proposed after two supplementary surveys that have been conducted, focusing on users' privacy needs and developers' perspectives on self-adaptive privacy.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Self-Reported Adult Asthma in Cyprus: A Population-Based Observational Study.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of asthma in adults, by gender and age, in urban and rural areas of Cyprus.

Patients And Methods: This was a population-based, random-digit dialing, telephone nation-wide survey to recruit patients with asthma. Among 8996 random landline-telephone contacted from the five major urban and rural regions of Cyprus, 1914 were finally met the age criterion of ≥18 years old and 572 completed valid screening for prevalence estimation.

Outpatient Management of COVID-19 Disease: A Holistic Patient-Centered Proposal Based on the Greek Experience.

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a worldwide pandemic and affected more than 227 countries or territories, resulting in more than 179 million cases with over 3.890.00 deaths, as of June 25, 2021.

Acute Severe Asthma in Adolescent and Adult Patients: Current Perspectives on Assessment and Management.

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease that is associated with variable expiratory flow, variable respiratory symptoms, and exacerbations which sometimes require hospitalization or may be fatal. It is not only patients with severe and poorly controlled asthma that are at risk for an acute severe exacerbation, but this has also been observed in patients with otherwise mild or moderate asthma. This review discusses current aspects on the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of acute severe asthma exacerbations and provides the current perspectives on the management of acute severe asthma attacks in the emergency department and the intensive care unit.

Molecular profiling of EGFR family in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: correlation with airway obstruction.

Background: Growth factors mediate various cellular responses to environmental stimuli. Specifically, exposure of lung epithelium to oxidative stress induced by cigarette smoke stimulates aberrant epidermal growth factor receptor (ERBB) family activation. This study's objective was to evaluate the expression of ERBB1-4 receptors in the lung tissue of smokers with or without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Granule cytotoxic activity and oxidative DNA damage in smoking and nonsmoking patients with asthma.

Background: Lung cytotoxic mechanisms trigger the release of perforin and granzymes, causing oxidative DNA damage that ultimately leads to apoptosis. These effects, although demonstrated in COPD, have not been investigated in patients with asthma and in particular in patients with asthma who smoke. Our aim was to measure perforin, granzyme A, granzyme B, and 8-OHdG expression in sputum from smoking and nonsmoking patients with asthma, compared with smoking and nonsmoking control subjects.

Detection of exacerbations in asthma based on electronic diary data: results from the 1-year prospective BIOAIR study.

Background: Objective measures are required that may be used as a proxy for exacerbations in asthma. The aim was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of electronic diary data to detect severe exacerbations (SEs) of asthma. A secondary aim was to identify phenotypic variables associated with a higher risk of exacerbation.

Immune and genetic mechanisms in COPD: possible targets for therapeutic interventions.

Genetic, immune and environmental interactions are key elements for the development of COPD. Cigarette smoking is considered the primary risk factor initiating inflammatory cascades in genetically susceptible individuals. The "danger signals" elicited by the injured cells of non-specific immunity induce the downstream activation of proinflammatory cascades and antigen-specific adaptive immune responses.

DNA damage due to oxidative stress in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

According to the American Thorasic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) Statement, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is defined as a preventable and treatable disease with a strong genetic component, characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible, but is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced inflammatory response of the lung to noxious particles or gases. The main features of COPD are chronic inflammation of the airways and progressive destruction of lung parenchyma and alveolar structure. The pathogenesis of COPD is complex due to the interactions of several mechanisms, such as inflammation, proteolytic/antiproteolytic imbalance, oxidative stress, DNA damage, apoptosis, enhanced senescence of the structural cells and defective repair processes.

Molecular response of the human diaphragm on different modes of mechanical ventilation.

Background: The mechanical stress that the human diaphragm is exposed to during mechanical ventilation affects a variety of processes, including signal transduction, gene expression, and angiogenesis.

Objectives: The study aim was to assess the change in the production of major angiogenic regulators [vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1)] on the human diaphragm before and after contraction/relaxation cycles during mechanical ventilation.

Methods: This observational study investigates the diaphragmatic mRNA expression of VEGF, FGF2, and TGFB1 in surgical patients receiving general anesthesia with controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) with muscle relaxation (group A, n = 13), CMV without muscle relaxation (group B, n = 10), and pressure support of spontaneous breathing (group C, n = 9).

Downregulation of lung mitochondrial prohibitin in COPD.

Prohibitins (PHB1 and PHB2) are versatile proteins located at the inner mitochondrial membrane, maintaining normal mitochondrial function and morphology. They interact with the NADH dehydrogenase protein complex, which is essential for oxidoreductase activity within cells. However, their expression in lung epithelium, especially in smokers and patients with inflammatory lung diseases associated with increased oxidative stress, such as COPD, is unknown.

Long-term omalizumab treatment in severe allergic asthma: the South-Eastern Mediterranean "real-life" experience.

Background: Omalizumab is a recombinant humanized anti-IgE monoclonal antibody indicated as an add-on treatment for severe allergic asthma, inadequately controlled despite high dose of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting b2-agonists.

Objectives: Medical registries were used to evaluate the 4 months, 1 and 4 years effectiveness of omalizumab treatment, in a non-interventional, observational "real-life" study.

Methods: Sixty patients with severe persistent allergic asthma from 5 South-Eastern Mediterranean centres from Crete and Cyprus were evaluated.

Lymphangiogenesis in COPD: another link in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Background: New lymphatic vessels are associated with tissue injury and repair. Recent studies have shown increased lymphatic follicles formation in the lungs of COPD patients. We hypothesized that lymphatic vascular remodeling could be part of COPD pathogenesis.

Oxidative DNA damage and somatic mutations: a link to the molecular pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory airway diseases.

Background: Acquired somatic mutations induced by oxidative stress may contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory airway diseases. The objective of this study was to assess the intensity of oxidative DNA damage and the presence of microsatellite DNA instability (MSI), a marker of acquired somatic mutations, in patients with COPD, patients with noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, and control subjects.

Methods: Induced sputum and peripheral blood from 97 subjects were analyzed; 36 patients with COPD, 36 patients with bronchiectasis, 15 smokers without COPD, and 10 healthy control subjects.

CRP evolution pattern in CPAP-treated obstructive sleep apnea patients. Does gender play a role?

Background-aim: C-reactive protein (CRP) is directly implicated in atherogenesis and associated cardiovascular morbidity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Effective continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment has been shown to gradually decrease CRP levels and thus consequently improve disease-related cardiovascular morbidity. However, the influence of gender on the CRP evolution pattern has never been assessed before.

Asthma in the Elderly: Can We Distinguish It from COPD?

Asthma in older adults affects quality of life and results in a higher hospitalization rate and mortality. In common clinical practice, asthma in the elderly is underdiagnosed and undertreated or overdiagnosed and mistreated. The age-related reduction in perception of shortness of breath and the high incidence of comorbidities make the diagnosis and management more difficult and challenging for the physicians.

C-reactive protein evolution in obstructive sleep apnoea patients under CPAP therapy.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is recognized as a potential factor implicated in atherogenesis and associated cardiovascular morbidity. The aim of our study was to assess the CRP evolution during 1-year follow-up period in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients under CPAP treatment.

Methods: Five hundred and twenty-eight patients with newly diagnosed moderate to severe OSA were included.

Utility of formulas predicting the optimal nasal continuous positive airway pressure in a Greek population.

Background: There have been reports that optimal CPAP pressure can be predicted from a previously derived formula, with the Hoffstein formula being the most accurate and accepted in the literature so far. However, the validation of this predictive model has not been applied in different clinical settings. Our aim was to compare both the Hoffstein prediction formula and a newly derived formula to the CPAP pressure setting assessed during a formal CPAP titration study.

Deregulation of apoptosis mediators' p53 and bcl2 in lung tissue of COPD patients.

Abnormal apoptotic events in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) subvert cellular homeostasis and may play a primary role in its pathogenesis. However, studies in human subjects are limited. p53 and bcl2 protein expression was measured by western blot on lung tissue specimens from 43 subjects (23 COPD smokers and 20 non-COPD smokers), using beta-actin as internal control.

Somatic DNA alterations in lung epithelial barrier cells in COPD patients.

Background: Instability of the Microsatellite DNA Instability (MSI) and Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) have been previously detected in sputum cells of COPD patients. However, the particular cell subpopulation exhibiting genetic instability in COPD was uncertain. The aim of this study was to determine which cell type expresses Microsatellite DNA Instability in sputum and BALF samples from COPD patients.