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Observational Study
. 2023 Jan 27;24(3):2455.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24032455.

Severe Asthma Remissions Induced by Biologics Targeting IL5/IL5r: Results from a Multicenter Real-Life Study

Angelantonio Maglio  1 , Carolina Vitale  1 , Corrado Pelaia  2 , Maria D'Amato  3 , Luigi Ciampo  1 , Eliana Sferra  3 , Antonio Molino  3 , Giulia Pelaia  2 , Alessandro Vatrella  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Severe Asthma Remissions Induced by Biologics Targeting IL5/IL5r: Results from a Multicenter Real-Life Study

Angelantonio Maglio et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Add-on biological therapy has proven to be effective in many patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. In this observational multicenter retrospective study, we report the results obtained with mepolizumab and benralizumab in severe asthmatics treated for 12 months in a real-life setting. In these patients, peripheral eosinophil levels, pulmonary function trends, exacerbation rates, systemic corticosteroid use, and symptom control were evaluated during the observation period, to understand which patients met all the criteria in order to be considered in disease remission. The percentage of remittent patients was 30.12% in the mepolizumab-treated subgroup, while in the benralizumab-treated subgroup, patients in complete disease remission were 40%, after 12 months. The results of this study confirm the efficacy of anti-IL-5 biologic drugs in the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma in a real-life setting.

Keywords: OCS-dependent asthma; airway inflammation; anti-IL 5; asthma remission; benralizumab; mepolizumab; severe asthma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of mepolizumab (panel A) and benralizumab (panel B) on peripheral blood eosinophil count (****: p < 0.0001).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Improvements in lung function parameters after treatment with biologics. Panels (A–D) refer to mepolizumab-treated patients; panels (E–H) refer to benralizumab-treated patients (**: p < 0.05; ***: p < 0.0005; ****: p < 0.0001).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of mepolizumab (panels A,B) and benralizumab (panels C,D) on exacerbations and OCS mean daily dose (****: p < 0.0001).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of mepolizumab (panel A) and benralizumab (panel B) on ACT score over time (****: p < 0.0001).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percentage of mepolizumab-treated (panel A) and benralizumab-treated (panel B) patients meeting individual criteria for clinical remission in asthma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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