Bronchiolitis, monoclonal antibody halves hospitalizations of children younger than six months old
A European study involving experts from the Università Cattolica, Rome campus - Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS together with a network of British and Spanish scientists and clinicians, published in the journal Lancet Regional Healt
2025-06-03
(Press-News.org)
A single dose of the long-acting antibody nirsevimab developed to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infections (The drug has been approved at the European level to protect infants in their first season of exposure to the virus) to infants can halve hospitalisations for bronchiolitis. It is the result of a study involving the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome campus - Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, co-ordinated by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Catalonia, Children's Emergency Department, Leicester Royal Infirmary and University of Edinburgh, the first to analyse a ‘real world’ case study.
The work was published in the journal Lancet Regional Health - Europe and was co-ordinated by Dr. Danilo Buonsenso, researcher in General and Specialist Paediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University and paediatrician at the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit of the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS.
Buonsenso explains: ‘now, for the first time, a real-world study has analysed the concrete impact of nirsevimab by comparing European countries with different health policies: Catalonia (Spain), where the drug was introduced in 2023-2024, and some areas of the UK and Rome (Italy), where it had not yet been adopted’.
BACKGROUND
Bronchiolitis is an acute viral infection that affects the respiratory system of children under one year of age mainly in the first six months of life with greater frequency between November and March. It is often associated with respiratory syncytial virus infection (in about 3 out of 4 cases) that can cause respiratory failure especially in children under one year of age - among babies under six months old.
But other viruses can also be the cause, metapneumovirus, coronavirus, rhinovirus, adenovirus, influenza and parainfluenza viruses. Infection results from transmission primarily by direct contact with infected secretions.
THE STUDY
The data, collected from 68 Catalan hospitals and 5 hospitals in the United Kingdom and Italy, show a clear result: in children under 6 months in Catalonia, hospitalisations for bronchiolitis have almost halved compared to the average of previous seasons. Emergency room admissions for the same age group were also significantly reduced. In contrast, no significant reduction emerged in the other European centres where nirsevimab was not administered.
The drug's effect was less pronounced in older children (between 6 and 23 months), suggesting that the greatest efficacy is concentrated in the first few months of life. The authors also emphasise the need for larger, internationally coordinated studies, not least to assess the economic sustainability of introducing nirsevimab on a large scale.
The study represents an important step in assessing the real effectiveness of new preventive strategies against RSV, comparing for the first time countries with different approaches to its implementation, Buonsenso concludes.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2025-06-03
Children born to mothers who are very obese with a BMI of 35 or higher are at heightened risk of being admitted to hospital for an infection, finds a long term study published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.
The findings highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight before and after the pregnancy, say the researchers.
On current trends, the global prevalence of maternal obesity is projected to reach nearly 1 in 4 (23%) by 2030, point out the researchers. This is of particular concern, given that obesity is characterised by a state of chronic inflammation, which increases the risk of a disordered immune ...
2025-06-03
A group of astronomers from across the globe, including a team from the University of Washington and led by Queen’s University Belfast, have revealed new research showing that millions of new solar system objects will be detected by a brand-new facility, which is expected to come online later this year.
The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is set to revolutionize our knowledge of the solar system’s “small bodies” — asteroids, comets and other minor planets.
The Rubin Observatory, ...
2025-06-03
A new study from Pitt researchers challenges a decades-old assumption in neuroscience by showing that the brain uses distinct transmission sites — not a shared site — to achieve different types of plasticity. The findings, published in Science Advances, offer a deeper understanding of how the brain balances stability with flexibility, a process essential for learning, memory and mental health.
Neurons communicate through a process called synaptic transmission, where one neuron releases chemical messengers called neurotransmitters ...
2025-06-03
The Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators, and Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global semiconductor leader, have announced a new partnership to drive the next generation of scientific leadership in analog, digital, and software technology solutions.
Through the Hertz Fellowship – the nation’s most prestigious doctoral fellowship – and its influential network of 1,300 Hertz Fellows, the Hertz Foundation has been at the forefront of advancing science and technology for more than 60 years. Hertz Fellows are responsible for some of the most significant progress of the past century, from the recent launch of the ...
2025-06-03
Despite growing concerns about data privacy, new research from the University of South Australia shows that most people are happy to hand over their health information if it could help improve their care.
In a new global study, UniSA researchers found that 94% of people who use wearable activity trackers – such as Fitbits, Garmins, as well as Samsung or Apple Watches – are open to sharing data with their healthcare providers.
Of these respondents, 47% of people had already discussed their data with their healthcare provider, ...
2025-06-03
OXFORD, Miss. – Many Americans rely on their Apple Watches or similar devices each day to count their steps, track workouts, and measure how many calories they burn. But are those wearable devices accurate?
University of Mississippi professor Minsoo Kang and doctoral student Ju-Pil Choe are working to answer that question.
Kang, a professor of sport analytics, and Choe reviewed 56 studies that compared the Apple Watch to trusted reference tools in measuring energy burned, heart rate and step counts.
Data ...
2025-06-03
Dr. Nikolaos Koundouros, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a 2025 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award for Junior Investigators.
Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Rockefeller University present the awards to up to six exceptional investigators each year—at least one from each institution—who are recognized for their notable research achievements, impactful findings and high potential for success as independent investigators. ...
2025-06-03
A large international study has found that two different approaches to managing blood pressure in older adults undergoing non-cardiac surgery, one avoiding low blood pressure (hypotension) and the other high blood pressure (hypertension), lead to similar outcomes in terms of in-hospital delirium and cognitive changes one year after surgery.
The findings were published on June 3 in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The randomized controlled trial, a substudy of the POISE-3 trial, included 2,603 patients across 54 centres in 19 countries undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Participants were 70 years old on ...
2025-06-03
Caring for a cat with chronic health conditions can be challenging for all involved, from the process of getting to a veterinary clinic to the stress of being in a strange environment with new smells and animals.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, worked with pet owners across the United States and Canada to determine whether video telehealth visits could help improve care and the home environment for cats with feline degenerative joint disease, commonly referred to as feline arthritis.
The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, show that video calls where pet owners can ask questions and get non-medical ...
2025-06-03
Using a newly devised, three-dimensional model to study the regeneration of nerve tissue in the nose, researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) and colleagues have discovered that one type of stem cell thought to be dormant may play a more significant role in preserving the sense of smell than originally believed.
Unlike cells in the central nervous system, sensory neurons in the nasal cavity have a remarkable ability to regenerate throughout life despite near constant exposure to the outside ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Bronchiolitis, monoclonal antibody halves hospitalizations of children younger than six months old
A European study involving experts from the Università Cattolica, Rome campus - Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS together with a network of British and Spanish scientists and clinicians, published in the journal Lancet Regional Healt
