Ricerc@Sapienza

New biologics are being continually developed for paediatric asthma, but it is unclear whether there are sufficient numbers of children in Europe with severe asthma and poor control to recruit to trials needed for registration. To address these questions, the European Respiratory Society funded the Severe Paediatric Asthma Collaborative in Europe (SPACE), a severe asthma registry. We report the first analysis of the SPACE registry, which includes data from 10 paediatric respiratory centres across Europe.

BACKGROUND: A national consensus document on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) use in childhood, produced by the main Italian pediatric scientific societies, has been recently released.

Background: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) reflects poor asthma control. Assessing noninvasive biomarkers associated with EIB could help to monitor patients in the pediatric age. Aims: To test exhaled and urinary biomarkers for assessing EIB in atopic asthmatic children.

Introduction: The basis of the development of the anti-interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody mepolizumab was the acknowledgment of the crucial importance of this cytokine in promoting eosinophils

A large amount of data show that AR and asthma are associated both epidemiologically and clinically, introducing the definition of “united airway disease”. The mechanisms underlying such association were initially suggested to start from the nose, including the loss of the protective and homeostatic effects of nasal function, the activation of a naso-bronchial reflex and the spread of allergic inflammation from the nose to the lower airways. Later, other factors such as microbial stimuli and systemic inflammatory mechanisms, involving bloodstream and bone marrow, were advocated.

Eosinophilic asthma is characterized by high eosinophil levels in induced sputum and peripheral blood. Elevated airway eosinophil counts can be detected in more than 50% of asthmatics and associated with more symptoms, frequent exacerbations, and greater airflow limitation. Increased blood eosinophils (BEs) also predict a greater response to new biological therapies (mepolizumab, reslizumab). Higher pretreatment BE levels are also related to a better response to omalizumab,3 which reduces BE, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), serum periostin, and exacerbations.

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) includes two main phenotypes: without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) and with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). CRSwNP may be associated with comorbidity, mainly concerning asthma, aspirin intolerance, and allergy. CRSwNP patients may also be evaluated by clinical-cytological grading (CCG). The current study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of the different CCG and phenotypes in CRSwNP outpatients examined in clinical practice. This retrospective cross-sectional study enrolled 791 consecutive CRSwNP outpatients (424 males, mean age 48.8 years).

The development of new asthma biologics and receptor blockers for the treatment of paediatric severe asthma raises challenges. It is unclear whether there are sufficient children in Europe to recruit into randomised placebo-controlled trials to establish efficacy and safety in this age group. In February 2016, the European Respiratory Society funded a clinical research collaboration entitled “Severe Paediatric Asthma Collaborative in Europe” (SPACE). We now report the SPACE protocol for a prospective pan-European observational study of paediatric severe asthma.

We report the cases of four children affected by Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) treated with Omalizumab with resolution of ocular
signs and symptoms. Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic conjunctivitis, not responding to topical antihistamines and frequently
misdiagnosed and mistreated. The effect of Omalizumab in patients with VKC should be better investigated and well-