Early life exposure to pollens and increased risks of childhood asthma: a prospective cohort study in Ontario children
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Asthma is a disease characterised by wheeze, cough and shortness of breath, and constitutes the most prevalent chronic disease among children [1]. Various phenotypes have been specifically identified in the paediatric population, and include early transient wheeze, current wheeze/asthma, and mild or moderate asthma [2]. Lifestyle behaviours, genetics, maternal and paternal factors, and environment exposures have been identified as risk factors in the multifactorial aetiology of childhood asthma [3]. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Stanescu, C., Talarico, R., Weichenthal, S., Villeneuve, P. J., Smargiassi, A., Stieb, D. M., To, T., Hebbern, C., Crighton, E., Lavigne, E. Tags: Research Letters Source Type: research
ERJ Podcast April 2024: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis
As part of the April issue, the European Respiratory Journal presents the latest in its series of podcasts. Chief Editor James Chalmers interviews Ritesh Agarwal (Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India) about the revised International Society for Human and Animal Mycology ABPA working group clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing, classifying and treating allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis/mycoses. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Podcast Source Type: research
"Therapeutic improvement of CFTR function and reversibility of bronchiectasis in cystic fibrosis." M.O. Wielpütz and M.A. Mall. Eur Respir J 2024; 63: 2400234.
(Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Author corrections Source Type: research
Smoking cessation at lung cancer screening: joining (life-saving) dots
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We now know that lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography saves lives. We have known for more than 60 years that smoking cessation (SC) saves lives. Can we save even more lives by combining these two effective interventions? The work by Murray et al. [1], in this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, is a big stride to show that we can. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Lewis, K. E. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Precision medicine in cystic fibrosis: predictive role of forskolin-induced swelling assay
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People with cystic fibrosis (CF) carrying at least one copy of the F508del allele can benefit from a small molecule therapy referred to as cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators (CFTRm). The triple CFTRm combination elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ELX/TEZ/IVA) has been shown to markedly improve clinical outcomes such as the percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (ppFEV1) and body mass index (BMI) [1]; however, granular data from the same clinical trial also showed that the treatment response to CFTRm varied among people with CF, even among those carrying the sa...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Furstova, E., Drevinek, P., Novotna, S., Libik, M., Benesova, K., Borek-Dohalska, L., Sakmarova, K., Modrak, M., Macek, M., Dousova, T. Tags: Research Letters Source Type: research
Sputum colour as a simplified effective biomarker for clinical assessment of bronchiectasis
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Bronchiectasis is a structural lung disease characterised by chronic airway inflammation due to various aetiologies, with a vicious circle of recurrent infections, chronic inflammation, impaired mucociliary clearance and structural damage that collectively result in clinical progression [1]. The most prominent clinical manifestations of bronchiectasis are chronic cough and mucopurulent sputum production, the consequence of airway mucus hypersecretion and heightened inflammatory responses which could predispose to irreversible airway destruction [2, 3]. Amid this vicious circle of bronchiectasis pathogenesis is chro...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tang, R.-d., Yue, J.-q., Guan, W.-j. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Impact of obesity progression or regression on the longitudinal assessment of fibrosing interstitial lung disease
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Abnormalities in lung mechanics (restriction) and pulmonary gas exchange (hypoxaemia) may jointly conspire to elicit exertional dyspnoea and decrease exercise tolerance in patients with fibrosing interstitial lung disease (f-ILD) [1]. Obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg·m–2), a prevalent comorbidity of f-ILD [2], may negatively impact on "static" (e.g. total lung capacity (TLC)) and dynamic (forced vital capacity (FVC)) lung volumes relevant to dyspnoea genesis [3]. Arterial oxygenation decreases as obesity worsens, particularly on exertion when poorly ventilated areas are perfused with less ...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Alqurashi, H., Marillier, M., Neder-Serafini, I., Bernard, A.-C., Moran-Mendoza, O., Neder, J. A. Tags: Research Letters Source Type: research
Uptake and 4-week quit rates from an opt-out co-located smoking cessation service delivered alongside community-based low-dose computed tomography screening within the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial
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Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer has been shown to reduce lung cancer-specific mortality in two large, randomised trials [1, 2], and implementation of screening is currently underway in many high- and middle-income countries [3]. Of those people responding to an invitation for lung cancer screening and subsequently eligible, between 30% and 50% are currently smoking [4, 5]. Evidence of the impact of screening alone on smoking cessation rates in randomised trials is mixed. Three studies have compared quit rates in participants randomised to LDCT screening versus a non-screened control gr...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Murray, R. L., Alexandris, P., Baldwin, D., Brain, K., Britton, J., Crosbie, P. A. J., Gabe, R., Lewis, S., Parrott, S., Quaife, S. L., Tam, H. Z., Wu, Q., Beeken, R., Copeland, H., Eckert, C., Hancock, N., Lindop, J., McCutchan, G., Marshall, C., Neal, R Tags: COPD and smoking Original Articles: Smoking cessation Source Type: research
Airway remodelling in asthma and the epithelium: on the edge of a new era
Asthma is a chronic, heterogeneous disease of the airways, often characterised by structural changes known collectively as airway remodelling. In response to environmental insults, including pathogens, allergens and pollutants, the epithelium can initiate remodelling via an inflammatory cascade involving a variety of mediators that have downstream effects on both structural and immune cells. These mediators include the epithelial cytokines thymic stromal lymphopoietin, interleukin (IL)-33 and IL-25, which facilitate airway remodelling through cross-talk between epithelial cells and fibroblasts, and between mast cells and a...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Varricchi, G., Brightling, C. E., Grainge, C., Lambrecht, B. N., Chanez, P. Tags: Asthma and allergy Reviews Source Type: research
Objective sputum colour assessment and clinical outcomes in bronchiectasis: data from the European Bronchiectasis Registry (EMBARC)
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Bronchiectasis is a chronic inflammatory disease [1, 2]. Although it is recognised that bronchiectasis is composed of multiple phenotypes and endotypes, inflammation has classically been regarded as neutrophilic and patients with higher levels of neutrophilic inflammation have been shown to have worse clinical outcomes [3–5]. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Aliberti, S., Ringshausen, F. C., Dhar, R., Haworth, C. S., Loebinger, M. R., Dimakou, K., Crichton, M. L., De Soyza, A., Vendrell, M., Burgel, P.-R., McDonnell, M., Skrgat, S., Maiz Carro, L., de Roux, A., Sibila, O., Bossios, A., van der Eerden, M., Kau Tags: CF and non-CF bronchiectasis Original Articles: Bronchiectasis Source Type: research
"Efficacy and safety of ralinepag, a novel oral IP agonist, in PAH patients on mono or dual background therapy: results from a phase 2 randomised, parallel group, placebo-controlled trial." F. Torres, H. Farber, A. Ristic, et al. Eur Respir J 2019; 54: 1901030.
(Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 18, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Author corrections Source Type: research
Response from the authors: As-needed ICS/formoterol or as-needed SABA in mild asthma?
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We thank J.A. Krishnan and R. Buhl for their commentary on our document "European Respiratory Society short guidelines for the use of as-needed ICS/formoterol in mild asthma", which was published in this journal in October 2023 [1]. We appreciate their willingness in building trust in the guideline development process. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 4, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Papi, A., Ferreira, D. S., Tonia, T., Schleich, F. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
FEV1Q: what (even) is normal lung function?
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People come in different shapes and sizes, and so do their lungs. This seemingly trivial observation raises significant problems when it comes to defining the presence and severity of lung function impairment using spirometry – a fundamental test in respiratory physiology. A common approach is to make a lung function measurement such as forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), and to compare that measurement to a so-called healthy normal population by making adjustments for age, sex at birth, height and, controversially, race. Many populations, often those systemically disadvantaged for diverse reasons an...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 4, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Aboelhassan, A., Hurst, J. R. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema syndrome: the age of majority
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Described in 1990, the combination of pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema is associated with a distinctive physiological profile, with preserved lung volumes and airflow, and severely altered diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) [1]. Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) was individualised as a syndrome in 2005 in a series of 61 patients [2], which drew attention to its main characteristics, namely male predominance, history of smoking, severe dyspnoea on exertion, relatively preserved airflow rates and lung volumes on spirometry, severely impaired DLCO, exertional hypoxaemia, and a high propensity...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 4, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Cottin, V. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Dysfunctional breathing after COVID-19: recognition and ramifications
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Protracted breathlessness in the wake of a COVID-19 infection is the consequence not of one disease process but many. COVID-19 pneumonia can severely damage lung architecture, with resultant long-term reductions in respiratory function, gas exchange and exercise capacity: a pattern of injury few respiratory physicians would fail to recognise. A more diagnostically challenging presentation can be that of the patient with a prior mild COVID-19 infection who lacks evident structural cardiopulmonary disease, who nevertheless suffers from marked, even debilitating, dyspnoea. Dysfunctional breathing (DB) has emerged as o...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - April 4, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Gaffney, A. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
