Background: Respiratory infections are known to exacerbate wheezing in many asthmatic patients. We aimed to use molecular methods for the fast detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila in respiratory specimens from asthmatic patients in Kuwait.
Methods: We used uniplex PCR assays to detect the three atypical bacteria in clinical specimens from 235 asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients in Kuwait. A regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors related to the bacterial type. Group comparisons for similarity were conducted and correlation coefficients were calculated using SPSS statistical software.
Results: The detection limits using uniplex PCR for C. pneumoniae, L. pneumophila and M. pneumoniae were approximately 1pg, 2.4fg and 12pg of DNA, respectively. M. pneumoniae PCR positivity was more common in asthmatic patients (15%) than in non-asthmatic subjects (9%) (P<0.05). A marked difference was observed between patients with acute asthma exacerbation (11%) and patients with chronic (stable) asthma (7%) among Kuwaiti patients; these percentages were 16% for non-Kuwaiti acute asthma patients and 14% for non-Kuwaiti chronic asthma patients (P<0.201). There was a weak positive correlation between asthma severity and PCR positivity for M. pneumoniae. The PCR results for C. pneumoniae and L. pneumoniae were found to be statistically insignificant.
Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that infection with M. pneumoniae may be related to the exacerbation of asthma symptoms and could possibly be a factor that induces wheezing.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2012.12.002 | DOI Listing |
J Infect Dev Ctries
December 2024
Family Medicine, Merkezefendi District Health Directorate, Denizli, Turkey.
Introduction: Post-COVID-19 syndrome refers to the occurrence of symptoms lasting more than 4 weeks in individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the post-COVID-19 symptoms in healthcare professionals.
Methodology: This descriptive study included 166 healthcare professionals who had tested positive for COVID-19 via PCR at least four weeks prior and subsequently presented to the Family Medicine Clinic at Pamukkale University Training and Research Hospital.
J Asthma Allergy
January 2025
Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA.
Airway inflammation, a hallmark feature of asthma, drives many canonical features of the disease, including airflow limitation, mucus plugging, airway remodeling, and hyperresponsiveness. The T2 inflammatory paradigm is firmly established as the dominant mechanism of asthma pathogenesis, largely due to the success of inhaled corticosteroids and biologic therapies targeting components of the T2 pathway, including IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). However, up to 30% of patients may lack signatures of meaningful T2 inflammation (ie, T2 low).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Pharmacol
January 2025
Phase I Clinical Trial Site, Nanjing Gaoxin Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Background: Fluticasone propionate is a synthetic trifluoro-substituted glucocorticoid, a highly selective glucocorticoid receptor agonist. Fluticasone propionate nebuliser suspensions is an inhaled corticosteroid with the low systemic bioavailability which provides a low risk (benefit outcome without the adverse effects that accompany systemically administered corticosteroids), referred as a first-line preventive agent for patients with persistent asthma. China has become one of the countries with the highest asthma mortality rate in the world in the past years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorld Allergy Organ J
January 2025
Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Background: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of severe asthma (SA) treatments after 12 months in achieving clinical remission (CR) within the context of the Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI) using the recent SANI definition of CR on treatment.
Methods: CR has been defined by SANI as complete, partial, and no CR. Complete CR is defined by the absence of oral corticosteroids (OCS), no symptoms, no exacerbations, and stable lung function, and partial CR requires the absence of OCS and the fulfillment of 2 out of the other 3 criteria.
Allergy
January 2025
School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Background: Alarmin cytokine IL-25 promotes type 2 inflammatory responses in disorders such as asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and known targets include ILC2 and Th2 cells. However, other cellular targets for IL-25 remain poorly defined.
Objective: To investigate induction and expression of IL-25 receptor (IL-17RB) by B cells and evaluate responsiveness of IL-17RB-expressing B cells to IL-25 in vitro.
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