Implications for the diagnosis of aspiration and aspergillosis in critically ill patients with detection of galactomannan in broncho-alveolar lavage fluids.

Invasive infections with Aspergillus fumigatus in ICU patients are linked to high morbidity and mortality. Diagnosing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in non-immunosuppressed patients is difficult, as Aspergillus antigen (galactomannan [GM]) may have other causes. This retrospective study analyzed 160 ICU surgical patients with positive GM in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF), classifying them based on AspICU criteria for suspected IPA (pIPA) or aspiration.

Health and socio-demographic background of Ukrainian minors and their families in Germany - challenges for refugee medicine : A cross-sectional study from the German Network University Medicine (NUM).

Unlabelled: In 2022, over 1,000,000 people from Ukraine fled to Germany, mostly women and children. The aim of this study was to determine health status and socio-demographic background of Ukrainian refugee minors in Germany and to compare that to German minors. In this study, Ukrainian refugees of all ages, who voluntarily made contact with the study centres via flyers or refugee shelters, were interviewed with the help of trained interpreters from 09-12/2022.

Distinct brain and lung endothelial miRNA/mRNA profiles after exposure to infected red blood cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control 60% of genes expressed in the human body, but their role in malaria pathogenesis is incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate cell type-specific alterations to the miRNA profiles during the early response to malaria infection in brain and lung endothelial cells (ECs). In brain ECs, incubation with -infected red blood cells in the ring stage (iRBCs) most significantly affected endocytosis-related miRNAs and mRNAs.

Comparison of AI software tools for automated detection, quantification and categorization of pulmonary nodules in the HANSE LCS trial.

Participant management in a lung cancer screening (LCS) depends on the assigned Lung Imaging Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS) category, which is based on reliable detection and measurement of pulmonary nodules. The aim of this study was to compare the agreement of two AI-based software tools for detection, quantification and categorization of pulmonary nodules in an LCS program in Northern Germany (HANSE-trial). 946 low-dose baseline CT-examinations were analyzed by two AI software tools regarding lung nodule detection, quantification and categorization and compared to the final radiologist read.

Epigenetic training of human bronchial epithelium cells by repeated rhinovirus infections.

Background: Humans are subjected to various environmental stressors (bacteria, viruses, pollution) throughout life. As such, an inherent relationship exists between the effect of these exposures with age. The impact of these environmental stressors can manifest through DNA methylation (DNAm).

Diffusion capacity and static hyperinflation as markers of disease progression predict 3-year mortality in COPD: Results from COSYCONET.

Background And Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibits diverse patterns of disease progression, due to underlying disease activity. We hypothesized that changes in static hyperinflation or KCO % predicted would reveal subgroups with disease progression unidentified by preestablished markers (FEV, SGRQ, exacerbation history) and associated with unique baseline biomarker profiles. We explored 18-month measures of disease progression associated with 18-54-month mortality, including changes in hyperinflation parameters and transfer factor, in a large German COPD cohort.

[Radiology of bronchiectasis].

Bronchiectasis is an irreversible bronchial dilatation. It is chronically progressive through a vicious circle of secretion retention, infection, inflammation and structural damage. The underlying causes are diverse and the severity of the disease is variable, which makes both the diagnostics and treatment challenging.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery for 1-10 Brain Metastases to avoid Whole-Brain Radiotherapy - Results of the CYBER-SPACE Randomized Phase 2 Trial.

Background: Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) is an emerging alternative to whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for treating multiple brain metastases (BM), reducing toxicity and improving tumor control. The CYBER-SPACE trial compared SRS based on either SPACE or MPRAGE MRI sequence for avoiding or delaying WBRT in patients with 1-10 BM.

Methods: Patients with 1-10 untreated BM were randomized 1:1 to receive SRS of all lesions based on either SPACE or MPRAGE MRI sequences.

Pushing the Survival Bar Higher: Two Decades of Innovation in Lung Transplantation.

Survival after lung transplantation has significantly improved during the last two decades. The refinement of the already existing extracorporeal life support (ECLS) systems, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and the introduction of new techniques for donor lung optimization, such as ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), have allowed the extension of transplant indication to patients with end-stage lung failure after acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the expansion of the donor organ pool, due to the better evaluation and optimization of extended-criteria donor (ECD) lungs and of donors after circulatory death (DCD). The close monitoring of anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) has allowed the early recognition of pulmonary antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), which requires a completely different treatment and has a worse prognosis than acute cellular rejection (ACR).

Long-term oxygen therapy in precapillary pulmonary hypertension - SOPHA study.

Current guidelines recommend oxygen (O) supplementation in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), despite scarce data on long-term O therapy (LTOT). The aim of this prospective, randomized, controlled trial was to investigate the effect of LTOT in patients with precapillary PH on exercise capacity, clinical parameters and hemodynamics. Patients with precapillary PH under stable therapy and O desaturations at rest and/or during exercise were randomized to receive LTOT (≥ 16 h/day) or no O (control group) for 12 weeks.

Data Management in Biobanking: Strategies, Challenges, and Future Directions.

Biobanking plays a pivotal role in biomedical research by providing standardized processing, precise storing, and management of biological sample collections along with the associated data. Effective data management is a prerequisite to ensure the integrity, quality, and accessibility of these resources. This review provides a current landscape of data management in biobanking, discussing key challenges, existing strategies, and potential future directions.

RLS-0071, a novel anti-inflammatory agent, significantly reduced inflammatory biomarkers in a randomised human evaluation of mechanisms and safety study.

Background: This study was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study intended to establish the translatability of the RLS-0071 mechanisms of action from animal disease models to humans by inhibiting neutrophil-mediated inflammation at the tissue level and major inflammatory biomarkers. We hypothesised that RLS-0071 inhibits a temporary neutrophil-mediated inflammation in the lungs induced by inhalation of low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in healthy participants.

Methods: Participants were randomised to one of three arms to receive inhaled LPS followed by three doses of either low-dose (10 mg·kg) or high-dose (120 mg·kg loading dose followed by two doses of 40 mg·kg) RLS-0071 or placebo (saline) every 8 h.

Durvalumab With or Without Tremelimumab in Combination With Chemotherapy in First-Line Metastatic NSCLC: Five-Year Overall Survival Outcomes From the Phase 3 POSEIDON Trial.

Introduction: The primary analysis (median follow-up 34.9 mo across all arms) of the phase 3 POSEIDON study revealed a statistically significant overall survival (OS) improvement with first-line tremelimumab plus durvalumab and chemotherapy (T+D+CT) versus CT in patients with EGFR and ALK wild-type metastatic NSCLC (mNSCLC). D+CT had a trend for OS improvement versus CT that did not reach statistical significance.

Novel cathepsin C inhibitor, BI 1291583, intended for treatment of bronchiectasis: Phase I characterization in healthy volunteers.

Novel treatments are needed to reduce inflammation, improve symptoms, address exacerbations, and slow disease progression in bronchiectasis. Cathepsin C (CatC) inhibition promises to achieve this through reduction of neutrophil-derived serine protease (including neutrophil elastase [NE] and proteinase 3 [PR3]) activation. Here, we present the phase I characterization of the novel CatC inhibitor, BI 1291583.

Association between right heart size and right ventricular output reserve in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Objectives: Right ventricular (RV) output reserve, defined as increase of cardiac output during exercise, is reduced in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Aim of this study was to evaluate the association of right heart size measured by echocardiography and invasively measured RV function at rest and during exercise in PAH patients.

Methods: Adult PAH-patients who received routine haemodynamic assessment at rest and during exercise by right heart catheterisation and echocardiographic measurement of right heart size (right atrial (RA) and RV area) were included in this study.

Cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is a rare genetic disease caused by mutations in CFTR, the gene encoding cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The discovery of CFTR in 1989 has enabled the unravelling of disease mechanisms and, more recently, the development of CFTR-directed therapeutics that target the underlying molecular defect. The CFTR protein functions as an ion channel that is crucial for correct ion and fluid transport across epithelial cells lining the airways and other organs.

Hif1α-dependent mitochondrial acute O sensing and signaling to myocyte Ca channels mediate arterial hypoxic vasodilation.

Vasodilation in response to low oxygen (O) tension (hypoxic vasodilation) is an essential homeostatic response of systemic arteries that facilitates O supply to tissues according to demand. However, how blood vessels react to O deficiency is not well understood. A common belief is that arterial myocytes are O-sensitive.

From the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Early Detection and Screening Committee: Terminology Issues in Screening and Early Detection of Lung Cancer-International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Early Detection and Screening Committee Expert Group Recommendations.

Introduction: To facilitate global implementation of lung cancer (LC) screening and early detection in a quality assured and consistent manner, common terminology is needed. Researchers and clinicians within different specialties may use the same terms but with different meanings or different terms for the same intended meanings.

Methods: The Diagnostics Working Group of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Early Detection and Screening Committee has analyzed and discussed relevant terms used on a regular basis and suggests recommendations for consensus definitions of terminology applicable in this setting.

Evaluation of treatment response with serial CT in patients with non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease.

Objectives: In patients with non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD), the response to treatment is evaluated based on microbiological, clinical, and radiological data. However, little is known about the dynamics of CT findings. The aim of this study was to evaluate CT changes in NTM-PD in order to define radiological criteria for treatment success.

Credibility of the evidence on green space and human health: an overview of meta-analyses using evidence grading approaches.

Background: Green space is an important part of the human living environment, with many epidemiological studies estimating its impact on human health. However, no study has quantitatively assessed the credibility of the existing evidence, impeding their translations into policy decisions and hindering researchers from identifying new research gaps. This overview aims to evaluate and rank such evidence credibility.