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Published on: April 13, 2010
Mepolizumab improved airway hyperresponsiveness in a patient with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis
Chisato Onitsuka1, Tetsuya Homma1, Tomoko Kawahara1
1Showa University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Tokyo, Japan.
Background:
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a severe type of asthma characterized by hypersensitivity to Aspergillus fumigatus and lung infiltration with eosinophilia. The central pathogenesis of asthma is airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), with eosinophils playing a critical role. Anti-interleukin (IL)-5 antibody therapy has been recently introduced to treat severe asthma, which reportedly inactivates and reduces eosinophil count. A recent case series highlighted the improvement in asthmatic symptoms associated with ABPA, but previous reports failed to demonstrate any improvement in AHR.
Objective:
Herein, we aimed to elucidate the efficacy of mepolizumab in a patient with ABPA who showed improvement in AHR.
Methods:
Case report.
Results:
A 63-year-old Asian woman with ABPA showed improvement in asthmatic symptoms and AHR following mepolizumab therapy.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that IL-5 may serve in the pathogenesis of ABPA.
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