Dr. Christina Bal
MedUni Wien RESEARCHER OF THE MONTH October 2023
The fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) lacks large-scale validation as an airway inflammatory marker in severe asthma. In a well-characterized cohort of the Severe Asthma Registry of the German Asthma Net (GAN) encompassing 1007 patients, significantly higher FeNO values were measured in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and/or nasal polyposis, a body mass index of <30 kg/m², a later onset of asthma, older age, hypoxemia, higher total IgE, as well as low FEV1 and Tiffeneau index, poor asthma control, low quality of life, increased exacerbation rates, and corticosteroid dependency, indicating a higher disease burden in these patients, and supporting FeNO as a valid biomarker reflecting disease severity and potentially guiding treatment and management of severe asthma.
Selected Literature
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Bal C, Idzko M, Škrgat S, Koch A, Milger K, Schulz C, Zehetmayer S, Hamelmann E, Buhl R, Korn S; collaborators from the German Asthma Net (GAN). Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide is associated with disease burden in the German Asthma Net severe asthma cohort. Eur Respir J. 2022 Jun 2;59(6):2101233. doi: 10.1183/13993003.01233-2021. PMID: 35273030; PMCID: PMC9202484.
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Burkhardt JK, Bal C, Neidert MC, Bozinov O. The Transcondylar Approach to Access Symptomatic Arachnoid Cysts of the Hypoglossal Canal. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown). 2018 Feb 1;14(2):E23-E25. doi: 10.1093/ons/opx117. PMID: 29351690.
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Bal C, Falster C, Carvalho A, Hersch N, Brock J, Laursen CB, Walsh S, Annema J, Gompelmann D. ERS International Congress 2021: highlights from the Clinical Techniques, Imaging and Endoscopy Assembly. ERJ Open Res. 2022 May 23;8(2):00116-2022. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00116-2022. PMID: 35615419; PMCID: PMC9124868.
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Bal C, Gompelmann D, Krebs M, Antoniewicz L, Guttmann-Ducke C, Lehmann A, Milacek CO, Gysan MR, Wolf P, Jentus MM, Steiner I, Idzko M. Associations of hyponatremia and SIADH with increased mortality, young age and infection parameters in patients with tuberculosis. PLoS One. 2022 Oct 13;17(10):e0275827. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275827. PMID: 36227934; PMCID: PMC9560481.
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Bal C, Pohl W, Milger K, Skowasch D, Schulz C, Gappa M, Koerner-Rettberg C, Jandl M, Schmidt O, Zehetmayer S, Taube C, Hamelmann E, Buhl R, Korn S, Idzko M; German Asthma Net (GAN) study group. Characterization of Obesity in Severe Asthma in the German Asthma Net. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2023 Jul 4:S2213-2198(23)00714-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2023.06.049. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37406803.