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Severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) is associated with poor disease control and compromised health-related quality of life (HRQoL), leading to a substantial psychosocial and economic disease burden. Benralizumab, an interleukin-5-alpha receptor monoclonal antibody, is approved as an add-on maintenance treatment for SEA, yet real-world evidence of its effectiveness is limited. EMPOWAIR is a non-interventional, multicenter, 48-week prospective cohort study aiming to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and the patient-perceived impact of benralizumab on HRQoL, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, work productivity and activity impairment among SEA patients treated in routine care settings in Greece. The study will also engage advanced remote patient monitoring technologies using portable spirometers and wearable activity trackers to collect data on lung function parameters and physical activity. The study plans to consecutively enroll 150 adult patients treated by lung specialists practicing in various healthcare settings across the country over an 18-month recruitment period. Eligible patients must be newly prescribed benralizumab per the approved label. Primary data will be collected at enrollment and 4, 8, 16, 32, and 48 weeks after treatment initiation through routine clinic visits or telephone contacts as per the standard clinical practice. The primary objective is to assess the change from baseline in HRQoL, as measured by the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and to estimate the proportion of patients achieving a minimum clinically important improvement in respiratory health status, defined as ≥ 4-point reduction from baseline in SGRQ total score, after 16 weeks of benralizumab treatment. The study rationale, design and protocol, are described herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has a spectrum of phenotypes. Its management should target remission or low disease activity, prevention of relapses and organ damage, minimisation of drug-related harms, and optimisation of health-related quality of life. Advances in our understanding of the disease pathophysiology have expanded the treatment armamentarium with targeted biologics that demonstrate superiority over conventional drugs in controlling activity, reducing flares and glucocorticoid exposure, and improving patient-related outcomes. In view of this, there is a critical need for real-world evidence providing insight into the spectrum of activity, the treatment landscape, and unmet needs among SLE patients. Such information can support regulatory and reimbursement decision-making. The primary objective of the NYMERIA multicentre study is to generate real-world evidence on the activity state of SLE patients treated in routine care settings in Greece. The overarching aim is to capture the disease burden based on both clinical aspects and the patient perspective., Competing Interests: GB reports honoraria and/or consulting fees from Lilly, Aenorasis, Novartis, Otsuka, AstraZeneca, GSK, SOBI, Pfizer, participation in advisory boards from Novartis. AF reports honoraria and/or consulting fees from Lilly, Boehringer, Novartis, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, GSK, MSD, Pfizer, UCB, Amgen, Aenorasis, support for attending meetings from UCB. MB and PG are AstraZeneca employees. DTB reports unrestricted investigational grants from GSK, honoraria and/or consulting fees from GSK, AstraZeneca, Pfizer., (© 2024 The Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (MJR).)

Amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) aggregation leads to the senile plaque formation, a process that is strongly influenced by oxidative stress and is considered as the molecular basis of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Endogenous antioxidants or dietary derived compounds may down-regulate this process. In this study, the interaction of two antioxidants, oleuropein (OE) and melatonin (M), with Abeta is monitored through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The concerted application of these two analytical techniques provides new experimental evidence and residue-specific insights into the interacting Abeta peptide amino acids that are implicated in this process. Both antioxidant compounds interact in a similar way with the peptide and cause chemical shift variations. The most pronounced resonance changes have been observed for the 1H-15N signals of N-terminal region and Leu17-Phe20 residues, as monitored by NMR titration studies.