Tobias Welte, ERS 2020 – COVID-19 Vaccines and Early Trials

It was a pleasure to meet with Prof. Tobias Welte (Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany), following his keynote presentation, to continue the discussion around COVID-19 management, current vaccine approaches and promising agents in clinical development. Questions 1. What are the major obstacles to be overcome in the investigation of management and preventative strategies for COVID-19? (0:37) […]

Richard van Zyl-Smit, ERS 2020 – Optimising Inhaled Therapies for Asthma

Richard van Zyl-Smit (University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa) kindly took the time to speak with us about maximising the benefit of inhaler therapy and recent development being made in this field. Questions What are the major unmet needs in the use of inhaled therapies for the control of […]

Liam Heaney, ERS 2020 – Corticosteroid Optimisation using Composite Biomarkers

Following his recent publication in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and presentation at the ERS Congress, we spoke with Prof. Liam Heaney (Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK) about the composite biomarker approach to optimising steroid dosage in patients with severe asthma. Questions Why is there a need for new approaches to optimising steroid dosage in people […]

Ivan Gentile, ERS 2020 – Outcome Prediction in COVID-19 Patients

Following the ERS International Congress, we were delighted to catch up with Prof. Ivan Gentile to further discuss the topic of his presentation entitled ‘Severity Assessment and Outcome Prediction in COVID-19 Patients‘. Questions 1. Why do levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) increase during COVID-19? (0:20) 2. How can CRP testing inform severity assessment and outcome […]

Dupilumab—A Potential New Biologic for Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps

US Respiratory & Pulmonary Diseases. 2020;5(1):Epub ahead of publication

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a clinical syndrome defined by symptomatic inflammation of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity for at least 12 weeks in duration. Historically, CRS has been classified into 2 subgroups, CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyps. Those with CRSwNP have a more significant burden of disease and poor […]

Nintedanib—A Potential New Therapy for Systemic Sclerosis-associated Interstitial Lung Disease

US Respiratory and Pulmonary Diseases. 2020;5(1):Epub ahead of print.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the skin and other organs. It has a range of clinical manifestations, and the typical internal organs involved include the lungs, kidneys, heart, and gastrointestinal tract. Though it is an uncommon condition, the mortality rate of this disease is higher than any […]

Evidence and E-cigarettes – The English Perspective

European Respiratory & Pulmonary Diseases. 2019;5(1):10–11

Recently, there has been much media coverage on the topic of e-cigarettes. Approaches to new data suggesting that e-cigarettes may be harmful have differed between countries. In particular, the attitude of public health bodies in England has differed significantly from those in other countries internationally. American electronic cigarette company Juul has been accused of deliberately […]

Elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor—A Combination Therapy for Phe508del Cystic Fibrosis

US Respiratory & Pulmonary Diseases. 2019;4(1):15–9

Cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited disease affecting all races and ethnicities, results from defects in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which leads to dysregulations in the ion and fluid balance across epithelial membranes throughout the body.1–3 The CFTR protein is an anion channel that functions as a transmembrane traffic ATPase which is […]