Respiratory pattern complexity in newly-diagnosed asthmatic patients.

BACKGROUND: The intensity of respiratory symptoms and expiratory airflow limitations in asthma fluctuate over time. Some studies have reported variable complexity of the respiratory patterns in asthmatic patients. Thus, we conducted a novel study to assess the correlation between asthma severity and breathing pattern dynamics in newly-diagnosed asthmatic patients. METHODS: A total of 20 newly-diagnosed asthmatic patients (7 male, 13 female) and 20 healthy cases (11 male, 9 female) were included. The respiratory patterns of all participants and the asthma severity for asthmatic patients were measured using a spirometer (before and after a bronchodilator exposure) and airflow recorder, respectively. The peak-to-peak intervals and the amplitude of peaks were considered as the inter-breath interval (IBI) and lung volume (LV) series. The Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), Sample Entropy (SampEn), Multi-scale Entropy (MSE), short-term (SD1) and long-term (SD2) variability, and IBI and LV Cross-Sample Entropy of the respiratory pattern dynamics were calculated using MATLAB (Mathwork, USA). RESULTS: Asthma patients showed notable increase in the average of sample entropy in both IBI and LV parameters (p = 0.025 and p = 0.018, respectively) and also decreased synchronization between IBI and LV (p = 0.042). The multi-scale sample entropy of both IBI and LV was significantly higher in asthmatic patients (p < 0.05). Furthermore, SD1 and SD2 were higher in the patients with asthma (p < 0.05). Significant correlations were detected between spirometric (forced expiratory flow (FEF) change, pre FEF, pre forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) / forced vital capacity (FVC), FVC change) and respiratory pattern (mean-IBI, mean-LV, mean-respiratory rate (RR), coefficient of variation (CV)-IBI, CV-LV, cross-sample entropy) parameters (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we identified a negative correlation between CV of IBI and asthma severity (r = -0.52, p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Here, we took a novel approach and observed increased irregularity (more complexity) in the breathing pattern of patients newly-diagnosed with asthma. Remarkable correlations were detected between breathing complexity markers and spirometric indices along with disease severity in asthmatic patients. Thus, our data suggests respiratory pattern indices could be utilized as an indicator of asthma and its severity. However, more clinical data are required to support this conclusion.

Pulmonary manifestations in a cohort of patients with inborn errors of immunity: an 8-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Inborn errors of immunity (IEIs) are a group of congenital diseases caused by genetic defects in the development and function of the immune system. The involvement of the respiratory tract is one of the most common presentations in IEIs. METHODS: Overall, 117 patients with diagnosed IEIs were followed-up within 8 years at the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD). Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected in a questionnaire. Pulmonary function test (PFT), chest X-ray (CXR), and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans were obtained where applicable. RESULTS: Our study population consisted of 48 (41%) patients with predominantly antibody deficiencies (PADs), 39 (32%) patients with congenital defects of phagocytes, 14 (11.9%) patients with combined immunodeficiency (CID), and 16 (14%) patients with Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases (MSMD). . Recurrent pneumonia was the most common manifestation, while productive cough appeared to be the most common symptom in almost all diseases. PFT showed an obstructive pattern in patients with PAD, a restrictive pattern in patients with CID, and a mixed pattern in patients with CGD. HRCT findings were consistent with bronchiectasis in most PAD patients, whereas consolidation and mediastinal lesions were more common in the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary manifestations vary among different groups of IEIs. The screening for lung complications should be performed regularly to reveal respiratory pathologies in early stages and follow-up on already existing abnormalities.

Disseminated Mycobacterium simiae Infection in a Patient with Complete IL-12p40 Deficiency.

Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) is a rare group of genetic disorders characterized by infections with weakly virulent environmental mycobacteria (EM) or Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Herein, we described the case of a 4.5-year-old boy with protein-losing enteropathy, lymphoproliferation, and candidiasis, who was found to have disseminated Mycobacterium simiae infection. A homozygous mutation in the IL12B gene, c.527_528delCT (p.S176Cfs*12) was identified, responsible for the complete IL-12p40 deficiency. He was resistant to anti-mycobacterial treatment and finally died due to sepsis-related complications.

The Prevalence of Atopic Manifestations in 313 Iranian Patients with Inborn Errors of Immunity.

INTRODUCTION: Inborn errors of immunity (IEIs) are rare inherited disorders with a broad spectrum of manifestations. Here, we aimed to delineate the atopy burden in a cohort of patients with IEIs. METHODS: 313 patients with IEIs were enrolled in the study within a 9-years period, and data were collected via a questionnaire. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software (v. 25.0, Chicago, IL, USA). The statistical significance level was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Overall, 51 out of 313 (16.3%) patients were identified to have atopic manifestations. Food allergy was detected in 34 (10.2%), atopic dermatitis in 21 (6.7%), as well as allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis each in 4 (1.3%) patients. The allergic disorders were reported as initial manifestations among 14 out of 35 (40.0%) atopic patients. Most of these 51 patients fell within the category of combined immunodeficiency (CID) (n = 38, 74.5%), followed by, severe CID (SCID) (n = 5, 9.8%), common variable immunodeficiency (n = 3, 5.9%), chronic granulomatous disease (n = 3, 5.9%), selective IgA deficiency (n = 1, 2.0%), and leukocyte adhesion defect (n = 1, 2.0%). No patient with Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacteria was found to have atopic manifestation. Atopic dermatitis (p = 0.001) and food allergy (p < 0.001) were both significantly higher in patients with CID than in other IEI groups. Among atopic patients with CID and SCID, food allergy and atopic dermatitis were the most prevalent comorbidities. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Atopic diseases may contribute to the clinical picture of IEIs, particularly in patients with CID. Atopy in association with other warning signs of IEIs increases the possibility of an underlying IEI.

Identifying Novel Mutations in Iranian Patients with LPS-responsive Beige-like Anchor Protein (LRBA) Deficiency.

LPS-responsive beige-like anchor protein (LRBA) deficiency is a monogenic primary immunodeficiency characterized by a heterogeneous spectrum of clinical manifestations associated with immune dysregulation. In this study, we reported clinical, immunologic, and genetic evaluation of two Iranian patients from unrelated families, both suffering from recurrent respiratory tract infections, failure to thrive, interstitial lung disease, autoimmune cytopenia, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Pulmonary abscess in one patient and persistent enteropathy in another were also observed. Further investigations revealed causative mutations in the exon (c.2166_2766del) and intron (c.4730-3 T > G) of the LRBA gene. These results may provide further elucidation of the clinical phenotypes and responsible genetic factors of LRBA deficiency.

Mendelian Susceptibility to Mycobacterial Disease (MSMD): Clinical and Genetic Features of 32 Iranian Patients.

Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases (MSMD) is a rare congenital condition characterized by a selective predisposition to infections caused by weakly virulent mycobacteria and other types of intra-macrophagic pathogens. The 16 genes associated with MSMD display a considerable level of allelic heterogeneity, accounting for 31 distinct disorders with variable clinical presentations and prognosis. Most of MSMD deficiencies are isolated, referred to as selective susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases. However, other deficiencies are syndromic MSMD, defined by the combination of the mycobacterial infection with another, equally common, infectious, specific phenotypes. Herein, we described a series of 32 Iranian MSMD cases identified with seven distinct types of molecular defects, all of which are involved in the interferon gamma (IFNγ) immunity, including interleukin IL-12 receptor-ß1 (IL-12Rß1) deficiency (fifteen cases), IL-12p40 deficiency (ten cases), and IL-23R deficiency (three cases), as well as IFNγ receptor 1 (IFNγR1) deficiency, IFNγ receptor 2 (IFNγR2) deficiency, interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) deficiency, and tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) deficiency each in one case. Since the first report of two MSMD patients in our center, we identified 30 other affected patients with similar clinical manifestations. As the number of reported Iranian cases with MSMD diagnosis has increased in recent years and according to the national vaccination protocol, all Iranian newborns receive BCG vaccination at birth, early diagnosis, and therapeutic intervention which are required for a better outcome and also prevention of similar birth defects. Therefore, we investigated the clinical and molecular features of these 32 patients. The current report also defined novel classes of pathological mutations, further expanding our knowledge of the MSMD molecular basis and associated clinical manifestations.

Delay in the Diagnosis of APECED: A Case Report and Review of Literature from Iran.

Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy candidiasis ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) syndrome is a rare monogenic autosomal recessive disorder caused by biallelic mutations in the AIRE (autoimmune regulator) gene. Patients with APECED present with heterogeneous endocrine and non-endocrine manifestations. In this study, we report an Iranian patient who presented with Addison disease, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, alopecia totalis, keratopathy and asplenia treated as an isolated endocrinopathy for 25 years. In the adulthood, the diagnosis of APECED was made by genetic analysis which demonstrated homozygous nonsense p.R257* (c.769C>T) mutation of AIRE. APECED has been shown to be frequent in some ethnicities including Iranian Jews. Therefore, we reviewed 39 Iranian APECED patients published in the literature. We found that most of the Iranian patients were of Jewish ethnic background and presented hypoparathyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, and candidiasis as the main clinical manifestation.