Article
Respiratory System
Eleni Papakonstantinou, Maria-Elpida Christopoulou, Meropi Karakioulaki, Leticia Grize, Michael Tamm, Daiana Stolz
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the association between plasma levels of heparan sulphate (HS) and the aetiology of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The results showed that HS levels were higher in COPD patients compared to non-COPD controls, and significantly increased during AECOPD. The increase of HS levels was associated with the aetiology of exacerbations, especially in cases with bacterial and viral coinfections.
Review
Cell Biology
Michelle E. Love, David Proud
Summary: COPD is a major cause of death globally, with acute exacerbations being a significant contributor to disease morbidity and mortality. This review examines the role of bacterial and viral infections, along with co-infections, in the pathogenesis of COPD exacerbations. The focus is on the role of airway epithelial cell responses in regulating the pathophysiology of exacerbations of COPD, and potential medication approaches to treat acute exacerbations triggered by respiratory infections.
Article
Respiratory System
Laura Taddei, Lucio Malvisi, David S. Hui, Ludovic Malvaux, Ronnie Z. Samoro, Sang Haak Lee, Yiu Cheong Yeung, Yu-Chih Liu, Ashwani Kumar Arora
Summary: In patients with COPD in the Asia-Pacific region, the presence of Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, or human rhinovirus in sputum samples significantly increased the odds of an exacerbation, and the health-related quality of life deteriorated according to the number of exacerbations experienced.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Mohammadali Yavari Ramsheh, Koirobi Haldar, Anna Esteve-Codina, Lillie F. Purser, Matthew Richardson, Joachim Mueller-Quernheim, Timm Greulich, Adam Nowinski, Imre Barta, Mariarita Stendardo, Piera Boschetto, Damian Korzybski, Antje Prasse, David G. Parr, Jens M. Hohlfeld, Balazs Doeme, Tobias Welte, Simon Heath, Ivo Gut, Julie A. Morrissey, Loems Ziegler-Heitbrock, Michael R. Barer, Dave Singh, Christopher E. Brightling
Summary: The airway microbiome in COPD patients is associated with decreased abundance of Prevotella and increased abundance of Moraxella as the disease severity worsens, along with changes in gene expression. Prevotella abundance is related to epithelial defence genes, while Moraxella abundance is associated with inflammatory pathways.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Rui Ye, Cuihong Wang, Pengbo Sun, Shuang Bai, Li Zhao
Summary: The expression of AGR3 in lung tissue may be associated with increased susceptibility to COPD exacerbation. Loss of AGR3 in airway epithelial cells could promote viral and bacterial infections, induce immune inflammation, and increase the risk of COPD exacerbation.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Charles R. Esther, Wanda K. O'Neal, Wayne H. Anderson, Mehmet Kesimer, Agathe Ceppe, Claire M. Doerschuk, Neil E. Alexis, Annette T. Hastie, R. Graham Barr, Russell P. Bowler, J. Michael Wells, Elizabeth C. Oelsner, Alejandro P. Comellas, Yohannes Tesfaigzi, Victor Kim, Laura M. Paulin, Christopher B. Cooper, MeiLan K. Han, Yvonne J. Huang, Wassim W. Labaki, Jeffrey L. Curtis, Richard C. Boucher
Summary: This study identified altered physiologic pathways associated with COPD airway pathophysiologic features through the analysis of sputum samples. Several biomarkers were found to be correlated with disease severity and predicted exacerbations in COPD patients.
Article
Biology
Antonino Di Stefano, Umberto Rosani, Stefano Levra, Isabella Gnemmi, Paola Brun, Mauro Maniscalco, Silvestro Ennio D'Anna, Vitina Carriero, Francesca Bertolini, Fabio L. M. Ricciardolo
Summary: This study found an imbalance between BMP proteins and their antagonists in the lungs of stable COPD patients, which may play a role in airway remodeling and the regenerative-reparative responses of diseased bronchioles and lung parenchyma.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Shanya Sivakumaran, Mohammad A. Alsallakh, Ronan A. Lyons, Jennifer K. Quint, Gwyneth A. Davies
Summary: This study characterized the microbiology testing and results associated with emergency admissions for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) and assessed the accuracy of ICD-10 codes in identifying laboratory-confirmed respiratory pathogens. The findings suggest the need for increased testing for respiratory viruses in AECOPD patients to improve antibiotic stewardship and case isolation.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2023)
Review
Respiratory System
Simon Lea, Andrew Higham, Augusta Beech, Dave Singh
Summary: This review discusses the role of ICS in the treatment of COPD, the reasons for individual variation in response to ICS, and the impact of ICS on the lung microbiome.
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Anna Lena Jung, Maria Han, Kathrin Griss, Wilhelm Bertrams, Christoph Nell, Timm Greulich, Andreas Klemmer, Hendrik Pott, Dominik Heider, Claus F. Vogelmeier, Stefan Hippenstiel, Norbert Suttorp, Bernd Schmeck
Summary: This study analyzed the value of selected plasma markers in the differential diagnosis and severity grading of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The levels of certain markers were found to differ between CAP and AECOPD patients and healthy individuals. These markers can serve as biomarkers and provide information on differential diagnosis and disease severity.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Thomas Rothe, Christophe von Garnier, Pierre-Olivier Bridevaux, Florian Charbonnier, Christian Clarenbach, Pietro Gianella, Anja Jochmann, Lukas Kern, Pavlov Nikolay, Claudia Steurer-Stey, Joerg D. Leuppi
Summary: Over 20 years ago, the concept of asthma control and its measurement tools were developed. The term clinically significant asthma exacerbation was introduced to differentiate between loss of control and exacerbation, but sometimes the distinction is not clear. This review explores the significance of understanding the differences in exacerbations between early allergic asthma and adult eosinophilic asthma, and why it matters in clinical practice and dealing with health insurers.
RESPIRATORY MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huiling Huang, Shuaijun Zan, Hongxia Ming, Mengfei Li, Jianrong Xu, Yuyang Xie, Wenjing Wang, Jingfeng Fan
Summary: The diversity of potentially pathogenic bacteria in water samples from the Liaohe estuary was analyzed using 16S next-generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that the dominant genera of environmental pathogens were Pseudomonas, Vibrio, Mycobacterium, Acinetobacter, Exiguobacterium, Sphingomonas, and Legionella. Vibrio was the most abundant pathogen, and its abundance was influenced by temperature and salinity. Spatial factors had a greater impact on the distribution of potential pathogens than environmental factors.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Respiratory System
Simon Lea, Augusta Beech, James Baker, Rosemary Gaskell, Dharmendra Pindolia, Aisha Baba Dikwa, Rajesh Shah, Dave Singh
Summary: COPD patients have increased susceptibility to bacterial colonisation in the airways, with Haemophilus influenzae being associated with higher neutrophil counts. This study found that lung macrophages responded differently to different bacterial species, with increased production of the neutrophil chemoattractant CXCL8 in response to Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis but not Streptococcus pneumoniae. Streptococcus pneumoniae induced macrophage apoptosis and ROS release, while Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis increased anti-apoptosis gene expression. These differential responses of macrophages to different bacterial species can explain the airway inflammation associated with Haemophilus influenzae in COPD patients.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kiki Waeijen-Smit, Niki L. Reynaert, Rosanne J. H. C. G. Beijers, Sarah Houben-Wilke, Sami O. Simons, Martijn A. Spruit, Frits M. E. Franssen
Summary: The study found that the expression of HYAL-2 is enhanced in patients with COPD compared to (non)smoking controls, while plasma HA and HAS-3 did not show any significant increase. Furthermore, the study revealed that plasma HA is not associated with clinical outcomes, but cardiovascular risk may play a role in its systemic regulation in stable COPD.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Bo Yang, Ping Wang, Zhenqing Li, Chunxian Tao, Qingxiang You, Shinichi Sekine, Songlin Zhuang, Dawei Zhang, Yoshinori Yamaguchi
Summary: The concept of time to place conversion in microfluidics allows for faster amplification of target genes, but may result in low throughput amplicons. To address this issue, a microfluidic system based on a CF-PCR array chip was developed to simultaneously amplify multiple target genes in a more efficient manner. This work provides insights into the development of high throughput CF-PCR microfluidic systems for point-of-care testing for simultaneous detection of various pathogens.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Daniel Pan, Caroline M. Williams, Jonathan Decker, Eve Fletcher, Shirley Sze, Sara Assadi, Richard Haigh, Baber Saleem, Joshua Nazareth, Natalie J. Garton, Manish Pareek, Michael R. Barer
Summary: This study examines the longitudinal patterns of naturally exhaled SARS-CoV-2 RNA viral load during acute infection and the relationship between emitted RNA viral load and household transmission using facemask sampling (FMS). The results show that RNA viral load peaks within the first 5 days following sampling. The study also suggests that FMS can detect high levels of exhaled RNA viral load in early infection and is strongly associated with household transmission.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Caroline M. Williams, Abdul K. Muhammad, Basil Sambou, Adama Bojang, Alhaji Jobe, Georgetta K. Daffeh, Olumuyiwa Owolabi, Daniel Pan, Manish Pareek, Michael R. Barer, Jayne S. Sutherland, Pranabashis Haldar
Summary: Mask sampling is a sensitive and noninvasive tool for evaluating the infectiousness of individuals in high tuberculosis (TB) burden settings. It provides better insight into community transmission and can inform public health interventions more reliably than sputum bacillary load.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
M. T. Abdulwhhab, C. W. Holmes, J. Mutuyimana, S. S. F. Koo, A. Wisniewska, J. Auty, N. Perera, M. R. Barer
Summary: Uninfected patients suspected of having PJP can excrete P. jirovecii during normal respiration, indicating the need for further understanding of PJP transmission.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2023)
Review
Virology
Daniel Pan, Joshua Nazareth, Shirley Sze, Christopher A. Martin, Jonathan Decker, Eve Fletcher, T. Deirdre Hollingsworth, Michael R. Barer, Manish Pareek, Julian W. Tang
Summary: Monkeypox virus (MPXV) has become a global concern. Recent studies have provided evidence on the transmission of MPXV, which can help in shaping evidence-based policies and dispelling misinformation. It has been found that viable viruses can survive on high-touch surfaces for up to 15 days. Sexual transmission appears to be the main route of transmission, with evidence of the virus present in saliva, nasopharynx, and sperm for prolonged periods. The current circulating variant of MPXV has shown milder clinical presentations and a higher transmissibility, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSMs).
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Primary Health Care
Samuel Thomas Jones, Monica Londahl, Anthony Prothero, F. D. Richard Hobbs, Ian Pavord, Saul G. Myerson, Bernard Prendergast, Sean Coffey
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between FeNO and LAP in patients aged 65 and above, and found that FeNO was not an accurate predictor of elevated LAP.
Article
Allergy
Klaus F. Rabe, Ian D. Pavord, William W. Busse, Geoffrey L. Chupp, Kenji Izuhara, Arman Altincatal, Rebecca Gall, Nami Pandit-Abid, Yamo Deniz, Paul J. Rowe, Juby A. Jacob-Nara, Amr Radwan
Summary: This study analyzed the efficacy of dupilumab in patients with or without evidence of allergic asthma and type 2 inflammation according to current GINA guidelines. The results showed that dupilumab reduced asthma exacerbation rates and improved lung function and asthma control, regardless of the presence of allergic asthma.
Review
Critical Care Medicine
Klaus F. Rabe, Stephen Rennard, Fernando J. Martinez, Bartolome R. Celli, Dave Singh, Alberto Papi, Mona Bafadhel, Jigna Heble, Amr Radwan, Xavier Soler, Juby A. Jacob Nara, Yamo Deniz, Paul J. Rowe
Summary: COPD is a complex inflammatory airway disease with different types of inflammation, requiring targeted therapies and biomarkers for better management. Current treatments have limitations and there is a need for new strategies to address specific pathophysiological issues.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Imran Howell, Aleksandra Howell, Ian D. Pavord
Summary: The field of asthma has experienced significant changes recently, driven by advancements in our understanding of type 2 airway inflammation. The discovery of monoclonal antibodies targeting specific aspects of the immune pathway has led to successful trials showing efficacy in reducing asthma attacks and exposure to oral corticosteroids. This review examines the key features of type 2 inflammation in asthma, summarizes clinical trial evidence of novel monoclonal antibody treatments, and explores future avenues for targeted asthma treatment.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Letter
Allergy
Simon Couillard, Francine M. Ducharme, Ian D. Pavord
JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY-IN PRACTICE
(2023)
Article
Allergy
William Walter Busse, Ian Douglas Pavord, Shahid Siddiqui, Asif Hameed Khan, Amy Praestgaard, Scott Nash, Juby Anne Jacob-Nara, Paul Jonathan Rowe, Yamo Deniz
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of dupilumab in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and coexisting asthma. The results showed that dupilumab significantly improved the symptoms of both conditions, regardless of baseline asthma characteristics.
JOURNAL OF ASTHMA AND ALLERGY
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Imran Howell, Mahdi Mahdi, Mona Bafadhel, Timothy S. C. Hinks, Sanjay Ramakrishnan, James Melhorn, Maisha Jabeen, Ian D. Pavord
Summary: This study aims to compare the clinical recovery between high-FeNO and low-FeNO asthma attacks after acute treatment with oral prednisolone in patients established on long-term asthma mAb treatment. The study data will help power a future randomized placebo-controlled trial of prednisolone treatment for nonsevere attacks in patients treated with asthma mAbs and will provide important information on whether corticosteroid treatment should be FeNO-directed.
JMIR RESEARCH PROTOCOLS
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jie Zhou, Anika Singanayagam, Niluka Goonawardane, Maya Moshe, Fiachra P. Sweeney, Ksenia Sukhova, Ben Killingley, Mariya Kalinova, Alex J. Mann, Andrew P. Catchpole, Michael R. Barer, Neil M. Ferguson, Christopher Chiu, Wendy S. Barclay
Summary: This study aimed to compare viral emissions, viral load in the upper respiratory tract, and symptoms in participants experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2. The results showed that a minority of participants were high airborne virus emitters, and the nose was identified as the most important source of emissions. Frequent self-testing and isolation upon the first symptom could reduce onward transmissions.
Article
Allergy
Ian D. D. Pavord, Arnaud Bourdin, Alberto Papi, Christian Domingo, Jonathan Corren, Arman Altincatal, Amr Radwan, Nami Pandit-Abid, Juby A. A. Jacob-Nara, Yamo Deniz, Paul J. J. Rowe, Elizabeth Laws, David J. J. Lederer, Megan Hardin
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of dupilumab in patients on high- or medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) at baseline. The study found that in patients on high-dose ICS, dupilumab showed sustained efficacy compared to placebo in terms of exacerbation rates, pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and asthma control questionnaire scores. Similar results were observed in patients on medium-dose ICS and in biomarker subgroups.
Editorial Material
Respiratory System
Gabriel Lavoie, Ian D. Pavord
Article
Respiratory System
Joseph Emil Amegadzie, Zhiwei Gao, Jennifer K. Quint, Richard Russell, John R. Hurst, Tae Yoon Lee, Don D. Sin, Wenjia Chen, Mona Bafadhel, Mohsen Sadatsafavi
Summary: Patients with COPD have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The accuracy of QRISK, a widely used CVD risk scoring tool, in capturing this excess risk is not well studied.