Eosinophil News and Research

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Eosinophils are a specialized type of cell within the immune system that are involved in anti-parasitic and inflammatory responses.

Patients with severe asthma may benefit from newly developed targeted treatments

In a novel study, researchers succeeded in identifying patients with a form of severe asthma (type 2 endotype) by measuring periostin concentrations in their airways.

23 Oct 2018

Researchers find new method to treat severe asthma

Researchers from McMaster University and the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, together with colleagues at other partnering institutions, have developed a new method to treat severe asthma.

23 May 2018

Eczema drug alleviates asthma symptoms and improves lung function

Two new studies of patients with difficult-to-control asthma show that the eczema drug dupilumab alleviates asthma symptoms and improves patients' ability to breathe better than standard therapies.

22 May 2018

Phase 2 study of dexpramipexole in hypereosinophilic syndromes meets its co-primary endpoints

Knopp Biosciences LLC today announced the publication of a report in the journal Blood that a Phase 2 study of dexpramipexole in hypereosinophilic syndromes met its co-primary endpoints.

10 May 2018

Popular allergy drug may reduce relapses in patients with neuromyelitis optica

The addition of cetirizine (the popular allergy medication sold under the brand name Zyrtec) to standard therapy is safe, well-tolerated, and may reduce relapses in patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a rare and severe disease that causes inflammation and demyelination (damage to the myelin - the protective coating of nerve cells), primarily in the optic nerve (optic neuritis), spinal cord (myelitis), and brainstem.

2 Feb 2018

AstraZeneca’s new precision biologic gets FDA approval to treat severe eosinophilic asthma

AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved FASENRA (benralizumab) for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe asthma aged 12 years and older, and with an eosinophilic phenotype.

14 Nov 2017

Early-warning blood biomarkers identified for lung damage

Blood biomarkers that predict accelerated loss of lung function have been identified in a study of fire-fighters who worked in the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster.

3 Nov 2017

Blood biomarkers appear to be early-warning signal for lung problems in WTC-exposed firefighters

Blood biomarkers appear to be an early-warning signal for the accelerated loss of lung function and airway obstruction in firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center disaster, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

3 Nov 2017

Antibody therapy found effective in subgroup of patients with treatment-resistant COPD

An antibody treatment reduces the rate of flare-ups by nearly 20 percent in patients with a subgroup of treatment-resistant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the results of two large international trials presented today at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Sep 2017

Trial shows promising results for new medicine in treating severe asthma patients

A trial led by a McMaster University respirology professor shows promising results for a new medicine for severe asthma patients.

25 May 2017

Investigational biologic may reduce need for systemic corticosteroids in patients with severe asthma

An investigational biologic may reduce the need for adults with severe asthma to take an oral corticosteroid to control their asthma, according to a randomized controlled trial presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.

22 May 2017

FDA-approved drug improves clinical outcomes among patients with rare immunologic disease

Adding the injectable drug mepolizumab to standard treatment for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a rare immunologic disease, significantly improved clinical outcomes among participants in an advanced clinical trial, scientists report.

18 May 2017

Study shows how immune cells drive heart damage in mice

A new study in mice reveals that eosinophils, a type of disease-fighting white blood cell, appear to be at least partly responsible for the progression of heart muscle inflammation to heart failure in mice.

16 Mar 2017

Study finds age-dependent differences in expression of allergy to dust mites

In adults with a house dust mite allergy, a cascade of inflammatory signals on the surface of the airways leads to airway remodeling.

26 Aug 2016

New drug could help decrease symptoms of asthma

The first new asthma pill for nearly 20 years has the power to significantly reduce the severity of the condition, a study led by the University of Leicester has found.

8 Aug 2016

Simple blood test can help track rising levels of eosinophils linked to regrowth of sinus polyps

In an effort to identify a simple, reliable way to track the course of nasal polyps in chronic sinus disease, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they've linked rising levels of immune system white blood cells, called eosinophils, with regrowth of polyps removed by surgery.

9 Jun 2016

Potential marker of disease activity identified for eosinophilic esophagitis

Researchers have identified a potential marker of disease activity for a severe and often painful food allergic disease called eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) - possibly sparing children with EoE the discomfort and risk of endoscopic procedures to assess whether their disease is active.

17 May 2016

Non-invasive test to diagnose EoE could replace need for repeated endoscopy

A non-invasive test to diagnose and monitor an inflammatory disease that injures the esophagus - called eosinophilic esophagitis or EoE - would replace the need for repeated endoscopy for a growing number of children and adults with this relatively new condition.

21 Apr 2016

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

People with asthma have telltale molecules circulating in their blood, say researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. The discovery could lead to the first diagnostic blood test for asthma, as well as more targeted treatments for the condition.

16 Apr 2016

Teva presents new Reslizumab data at European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2015

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., has presented results from a post hoc analysis of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials showing that treatment with reslizumab reduced clinical asthma exacerbations (CAEs) by 75 percent versus placebo in a subgroup of patients with late onset asthma (diagnosed at 40 years of age and older) with elevated blood eosinophils, who were inadequately controlled on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).

28 Sep 2015