Continuous improvement of FEV 1 in severe eosinophilic asthmatics on
anti-interleukin-5 therapy.
Abstract
Background: Severe asthma is associated with an accelerated
lung function decline which is likely attenuated by the addition of
anti-nnterleukin-5 (IL-5) therapy in patients with severe eosinophilic
asthma. Objective: To study the long-term impact of add-on
therapy with anti-IL-5 on FEV 1 in severe eosinophilic
asthma patients. Methods: In this post-hoc analysis, we
compared, through a linear mixed model, the evolution of
pre-bronchodilation FEV 1 expressed in %pred in a
cohort of 50 patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with
anti-IL-5 (1576 visits) before (median follow-up: 9.2 years) and after
(median follow-up: 2.1 years (up to 6.8 years) anti-IL-5 therapy start.
Results: FEV 1 decline was observed before
anti-IL5 start (-0.6 %pred.year -1,
p<0.001). FEV 1 improved significantly after
anti-IL-5 start (+1.3 %pred.year -1
p<0.001; difference pre-post: p<0.001). A sustained
improvement was observed in 31 patients deemed responders (+3.1
%pred.year -1, p<0.001; difference
pre-post: p<0.001) vs a continuous decline in 19 patients
considered as non-responders (-0.40 %pred.year -1,
p=0.087; difference pre-post: p=0.097). Non-responders exhibited a
higher prevalence of nasal polyposis, better asthma control and a trend
towards higher exhaled nitric oxide values. Conclusion: This
post-hoc analysis shows that add-on therapy with anti-IL-5 not only
stems the accelerated decline in lung function but also makes it
reversible in many severe eosinophilic asthma patients, leading to an
estimated improvement of 11% FEV 1 %pred after 3 years
of treatment. Persistent improvement in lung function is therefore
feasible in severe asthmatics and could be chosen as a lung function
criterion to define remission of asthma under treatment.