Background-Severe asthma causes the majority of asthma morbidity. Understanding mechanisms that contribute to the development of severe disease is important.

Exposure to arsenic has long been known to have neurologic consequences in adults, but to date there are no well-controlled studies in children. We report results of a cross-sectional investigation of intellectual function in 201 children 10 years of age whose parents participate in our ongoing prospective cohort study examining health effects of As exposure in 12,000 residents of Araihazar, Bangladesh. Water As and manganese concentrations of tube wells at each child’s home were obtained by surveying all wells in the study region. Children and mothers came to our field clinic, where children received a medical examination in which weight, height, and head circumference were measured. Children’s intellectual function on tests drawn from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, version III, was assessed by summing weighted items across domains to create Verbal, Performance, and Full-Scale raw scores. Children provided urine specimens for measuring urinary As and creatinine and were asked to provide blood samples for measuring blood lead and hemoglobin concentrations. Exposure to As from drinking water was associated with reduced intellectual function after adjustment for sociodemographic covariates and water Mn. Water As was associated with reduced intellectual function, in a dose–response manner, such that children with water As levels > 50 μg/L achieved significantly lower Performance and Full-Scale scores than did children with water As levels < 5.5 μg/L. The association was generally stronger for well-water As than for urinary As.

Protocol 012 Investigators (2020). Gefapixant, a P2X3 receptor antagonist, for the treatment of refractory or unexplained chronic cough: a randomised, double-blind, controlled, parallel-group, phase 2b trial. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Millions of persons around the world are exposed to low doses of arsenic through drinking water. However, estimates of health effects associated with low-dose arsenic exposure have been extrapolated from high-dose studies. In Bangladesh, many persons have been exposed to a wide range of doses of arsenic from drinking water over a significant period of time. The authors evaluated dose-response relations between arsenic exposure from drinking water and premalignant skin lesions by using baseline data on 11,746 participants recruited in 2000-2002 for the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Several measures of arsenic exposure were estimated for each participant based on well-water arsenic concentration and usage pattern of the wells and on urinary arsenic concentration. In different regression models, consistent dose-response effects were observed for all arsenic exposure measures. Compared with drinking water containing <8.1 microg/liter of arsenic, drinking water containing 8.1-40.0, 40.1-91.0, 91.1-175.0, and 175.1-864.0 microg/liter of arsenic was associated with adjusted prevalence odds ratios of skin lesions of 1.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26, 2.89), 3.03 (95% CI: 2.05, 4.50), 3.71 (95% CI: 2.53, 5.44), and 5.39 (95% CI: 3.69, 7.86), respectively. The effect seemed to be influenced by gender, age, and body mass index. These findings provide information that should be considered in future research and policy decisions.

In patients with hereditary angioedema, the prophylactic use of a subcutaneous C1 inhibitor twice weekly significantly reduced the frequency of acute attacks. (Funded by CSL Behring; COMPACT EudraCT number, 2013-000916-10 , and ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01912456 .).

Rationale: Despite long-term therapy with corticosteroids, patients with severe asthma develop irreversible airway obstruction. Objectives: To evaluate if there are structural and functional differences in the airway epithelium in severe asthma associated with airway remodeling. Methods: In bronchial biopsies from 21 normal subjects, 11 subjects with chronic bronchitis, 9 subjects with mild asthma, and 31 subjects with severe asthma, we evaluated epithelial cell morphology: epithelial thickness, lamina reticularis (LR) thickness, and epithelial desquamation. Levels of retinoblastoma protein (Rb), Ki67, and Bcl-2 were measured, reflecting cellular proliferation and death. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was used to study cellular apoptosis. Measurements and Main Results: Airway epithelial and LR thickness was greater in subjects with severe asthma compared with those with mild asthma, normal subjects, and diseased control subjects (p ϭ 0.009 and 0.033, respectively). There was no significant difference in epithelial desquamation between groups. Active, hypophosphorylated Rb expression was decreased (p ϭ 0.002) and Ki67 was increased (p Ͻ 0.01) in the epithelium of subjects with severe asthma as compared with normal subjects, indicating increased cellular proliferation. Bcl-2 expression was decreased (p Ͻ 0.001), indicating decreased cell death suppression. There was a greater level of apoptotic activity in the airway biopsy in subjects with severe asthma as compared with the normal subjects using the TUNEL assay (p ϭ 0.002), suggesting increased cell death. Conclusions: In subjects with severe asthma, as compared with subjects with mild asthma, normal subjects, and diseased control subjects, we found novel evidence of increased cellular proliferation in the airway contributing to a thickened epithelium and LR. These changes may contribute to the progressive decline in lung function and airway remodeling in patients with severe asthma.

is a principal investigator and advisory board member for AbbVie; is an advisory board member for Eli Lilly; is a principal investigator for LEO Pharma; is a principal investigator and advisory board member for Pfizer; is a principal investigator, provides research support, has received honoraria for lecturing, and is an advisory board member and consultant for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi Genzyme; and is an advisory board member for UCB. Dr Blauvelt is a scientific advisor and clinical study investigator for

Background Management of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) commonly requires long-term treatment. Objective The aim of this study was to report the safety and efficacy of dupilumab treatment for up to 3 years in adults with moderate-to-severe AD. Methods This ongoing, multicenter, open-label extension study (LIBERTY AD OLE; NCT01949311) assessed dupilumab treatment in adults previously enrolled in dupilumab trials. Patients received dupilumab 300 mg weekly up to 148 weeks. The primary outcome was safety. Results Of 2677 patients enrolled and treated, 347 reached week 148. Mean self-reported drug compliance was 98.2%. Safety data were consistent with previously reported trials (270.1 adverse events [AEs]/100 patient-years; 6.9 serious AEs/100 patient-years) and the known dupilumab safety profile. Common AEs (≥ 5% of patients) included nasopharyngitis, AD, upper respiratory tract infection, conjunctivitis, headache, oral herpes, and injection-site reactions. AD signs and symptoms showed sustained improvements during treatment with mean (standard deviation, mean percentage change from parent study baseline) Eczema Area and Severity Index 1.4 (3.2, − 95.4%) and weekly Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale 2.2 (1.8, − 65.4%) at week 148. Limitations No control arm; fewer patients at later time points; regimen different from the approved 300 mg every 2 weeks dose. Conclusion These safety and efficacy results support dupilumab as a continuous long-term treatment for adults with moderate-to-severe AD. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01949311. Video abstract Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40257-020-00527-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.