1,721,245 research outputs found
Aspergillus spp. colonization in exhaled breath condensate of lung cancer patients from Puglia Region of Italy
No full textBackground Airways of lung cancer patients are often colonized by fungi. Some of these colonizing fungi, under particular conditions, produce cancerogenic mycotoxins. Given the recent interest in the infective origin of lung cancer, with this preliminary study we aim to give our small contribution to this field of research by analysing the fungal microbiome of the exhaled breath condensate of lung cancer patients from Puglia, a region of Italy. Methods We enrolled 43 lung cancer patients and 21 healthy subjects that underwent exhaled breath condensate and bronchial brushing collection. The fungal incidence and nature of sample collected were analysed by using a selected media for Aspergillus species. Results For the first time we were able to analyse the fungal microbioma of the exhaled breath condensate. 27.9% of lung cancer patients showed a presence of Aspergillus niger, or A. ochraceus or Penicillium ssp. while none of the healthy subjects did so. Conclusion The results confirmed the high percentage of fungal colonization of the airways of lung cancer patients from Puglia, suggesting the need to conduct further analyses in this field in order to evaluate the exact pathogenetic role of these fungi in lung cancer as well as to propose efficient, empirical therapy
Microsatellite alterations at 3p in exhaled breath condensate and lung tissue of smokers and NSCLC patients
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Type-2 severe asthma comorbidities in the era of biologics: time to rethink clinical response?
No full textIntroductionThe use of monoclonal antibodies in patients with severe asthma has led clinicians to explore new levels of clinical improvement, as testified by the growing interest on clinical remission achievement. In this context, a major role is played by asthma-related comorbidities, which can influence asthma pathophysiology and treatment response. Areas coveredIn this special report, we highlighted how asthma-related comorbidities could deeply affect monoclonal antibody response as well as clinical remission achievement. As examples, we provided data from clinical trials and real-life experiences involving patients with severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) or bronchiectasis. Expert OpinionComorbidities associated with severe asthma development should be carefully assessed in everyday clinical practice, even with the help of new diagnostic technologies, artificial intelligence and multidisciplinary teams. Future studies should address the role of comorbidities in remission achievement, describing how these diseases could generate new trajectories of clinical and functional response in patient treated with monoclonal antibodies
Biological therapy for severe asthma
Full text linkAbstract Around 5–10% of the total asthmatic population suffer from severe or uncontrolled asthma, which is associated with increased mortality and hospitalization, increased health care burden and worse quality of life. In the last few years, new drugs have been launched and several asthma phenotypes according to definite biomarkers have been identified. In particular, therapy with biologics has revolutionized the management and the treatment of severe asthma, showing high therapeutic efficacy associated with significant clinical benefits. To date, four types of biologics are licensed for severe asthma, i.e. omalizumab (anti-immunoglobulin E) antibody, mepolizumab and reslizumab (anti-interleukin [IL]-5antibody), benralizumab (anti-IL-5 receptor a antibody) and dupilumab (anti-IL-4 receptor alpha antibody). The aim of this article was to review the biologic therapies currently available for the treatment of severe asthma, in order to help physicians to choose the most suitable biologic agent for their asthmatic patients
Reply to “Have we reached our final destination with biologics in severe uncontrolled asthma?”
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Exhaled breath analysis and sleep
No full textIt is currently estimated that the economic burden for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) cases not coming to medical attention is steadily increasing, thus making OSAS a major public health concern. For its increasing incidence among the common population, the interest of researchers and clinicians has been recently directed to the study of pathological mechanisms underlying sleep disorders. Current opinion is that airway inflammation and oxidative stress play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of OSAS. Recently there has been increasing interest in the investigation of lungs by non-invasive means measuring the exhaled breath volatile mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), ethane and pentane and finally the non-volatile substances in the liquid phase of exhalate, termed breath condensate. The non-invasiveness of these techniques for the study of airways affected by different respiratory disorders and among those, the OSAS, makes these ideally suited for the evaluation and serial monitoring of patients. Notwithstanding the increasing number of scientific contributions on the use of the exhaled markers in sleep disorders, at the moment, their use is not completely suitable for clinical application. An important contribution to the increase of our knowledge on exhaled markers and for their possible concrete application in clinical practice may come from future studies using proteomics, genomics and metabolomics. In this review, we focus on exhaled breath analysis giving an update on its general aspects, its application in OSAS, and finally its actual clinical applicability and areas for future direction
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