Breath is life. And sometimes it can make a difference, especially if you suffer from severe asthma. On the occasion of World Asthma Day, which is celebrated every year in early May, Sanofi launches #NextBreathChallenge, a social campaign to raise awareness on the importance of adequate control of asthma, a disease that affects more than 339 million people around the world and which can cause severe respiratory attacks and permanent lung damage. The campaign also offers an opportunity to inform patients about the possibility of long-term control of asthma, by acting on the root causes of this chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract.
Participate in the campaign it’s very simple: after activating the filter #NextBreathChallenge – in the filter library on your Instagram profile, at the top left of the Facebook stories posted by other users – a candle will appear in the center of the screen. The “challenge” is to extinguish the candle by blowing gently, while recording a video or taking a photo by holding down the button in the lower center. The real goal is to share the video or image in the stories to show your support for those living with asthma e raise awareness on the importance of adequate management of this chronic pathology. “People with asthma often tend to underestimate their condition,” he says Laura Mastrorillo, President of FederAsma e Allergie – Italian Federation of Patients OdV. For this reason we believe it is necessary to increase awareness of the disease in all its degrees and forms, and awareness events, such as World Asthma Day, represent a precious opportunity for patients to be urged not to resign themselves and to turn to specialized centers that can follow them adequately “.
Aggressive and with a major impact on patients’ quality of life, asthma is a complex disease associated with inflammation of the airways that makes breathing difficult. While most people living with asthma manage to manage their condition, in some cases – 5% to 10% – the condition becomes more problematic, with symptoms remaining uncontrolled despite adherence to maximum optimized therapy. .
Severe asthma is caused by chronic inflammation of the airways, with persistent symptoms, difficult to control with standard inhaled corticosteroid therapy, and which can impair daily activities, sleep and quality of life. Characterized by chest tightness, shortness of breath, limited lung function, increased exacerbations, and chronic use of systemic corticosteroids, severe asthma can be life-threatening and involve frequent emergency room visits and hospital admissions. emergency.
“During these years lived alongside patients, we have observed that too often it takes years to arrive at a correct diagnosis and those who suffer from severe asthma are not fully aware of their condition and above all, not knowing how to deal with it, experience discomfort heavy daily life and a strong sense of discouragement that compromises the quality of life. Our associative commitment aims to support patients on a daily basis, to promote better coordination between the health professionals involved in their care and to guarantee access to innovative treatments, a fundamental resource for proper care “he declares Simona Barbaglia, President of Breathe Together Onlus.
“It is a disease that in a high percentage of severe forms is caused by type 2 inflammation, a reaction carried out by the immune system. This type of immune response plays a central role as it involves cytokines and cells responsible for a real inflammatory cascade underlying the main symptoms of severe asthma. Being able to control this inflammation thanks to new targeted therapies, acting on specific inflammatory mediators, can be a great help in treating the most serious and disabling forms of asthma “, comments Francesca Puggioni, Head of Clinical Organizational ImmunoCenter, pulmonologist of the Personalized Medicine Center for Asthma and Allergology, Humanitas Hospital Milan.
In 50-70% of cases, therefore, severe asthma is associated with type 2 inflammation,[ii] due to the reaction of the immune system to triggers.[iii],[iv] It is a type of inflammation characterized by the release, by the cells of the innate (ILC2) and adaptive (T helper 2) immune systems, of the cytokines IL4, IL-13 and IL-5,[v],[vi],[vii],[viii],[ix],[x] proteins that act as communication signals between the cells of the immune system and between these and various organs and tissues. The release of these cytokines causes a real inflammatory cascade underlying the main symptoms of severe asthma and also related diseases, always characterized by type 2 inflammation, which often occur as comorbidities in patients with severe asthma (rhinosinusitis chronic with or without nasal polyposis, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, Eosinophilic esophagitis).
Type 2 inflammation is characterized by an increase in some biological markers: immunoglobulins E (IgE), eosinophils and the expiratory fraction of nitric oxide (FeNO)[xi] and underlies the different phenotypes of asthma: allergic asthma – mainly associated with elevated IgE levels -, eosinophilic asthma – characterized by pronounced eosinophil activity – or the mixed, allergic and eosinophilic phenotype together.[xii],[xiii],[xiv],[xv] Acting on type 2 inflammation can help control the symptoms of severe asthma[xvi] and related diseases.