Respiratory Disease

How the Group was Formed

It was the interest of the members of HUCA’s Lung Clinical Management Division in continuing to expand our knowledge about diseases of the airways that led to the creation of the Respiratory Disease Research Group.

Current and Future Priorities

Interstitial Lung Diseases : The introduction of the first effective treatments for interstitial lung diseases three years ago (most significantly, for the most common of these diseases with the worst prognosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) and the costs associated with them created a need for interdisciplinary collaboration between HUCA specialists (in radiology, pathological anatomy, microbiology, rheumatology, etc.), which led to the creation of a specific group to evaluate, prescribe and administer said treatments. This group also performs some basic research on the drugs’ mechanisms of action and their possible indications for silicosis: an extremely relevant disease in Asturias. In the last few decades, the advance in genotyping techniques has led to the identification of a large number of sporadic and familial genetic variants in patients with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. These studies have enabled us to develop a broader understanding of the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. Susceptibility to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis seems to involve a combination of polymorphisms related to epithelial cell lesion and abnormal repair of the lesions. Surfactant Protein C Mutations: One of the first genetic associations identified by researchers was a mutation in SFTPC – a gene which codes surfactant protein C – a highly hydrophobic protein that is essential to postnatal lung function and homeostasis. Telomerase Mutations: Telomerase is an enzyme that is responsible for the addition of deoxyribonucleotides to the ends of the telomeres, but this addition is controlled by a sequence of ribonucleotides or RNA, meaning that it can be described as a reverse transcriptase with special characteristics.

• Occupational Diseases.
• Diffuse Interstitial Lung Disease - Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
• Tuberculosis.

1. AUTHORS: Ruano-Ravina A, Pérez-Ríos M, Casàn-Clará P, Provencio-Pulla M.
   TITLE: Low-dose CT for lung cancer screening.
   Lancet Oncol. 2018 Mar;19(3):e131-e132. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30121-9.
   Impact factor: 36.418.
   Quartile: Q1
2. AUTHORS: Arias-Guillén M, Sánchez Menéndez MM, Alperi M, Riestra-Menéndez S, González Budiño MT, García-Clemente MM, Martínez-González S, Enríquez AI, Alonso-Arias R, Palacios Gutiérrez JJ, Santibáñez M, Coto-Segura P, Camblor PM, García-Alfonso L, Morante I, Escalante P.
   TITLE: High rates of tuberculin skin test positivity due to methotrexate therapy: False positive results?
   Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2018 Mar 29. pii: S0049-0172(17)30652-2. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2018.03.018.
   Impact factor: 4.356.
   Quartile: Q1
3. AUTHORS: Martínez-González C, Casanova C, de-Torres JP, Marín JM, de Lucas P, Fuster A, Cosío BG, Calle M, Peces-Barba G, Solanes I, Agüero R, Feu-Collado N, Alfageme I, Romero Plaza A, Balcells E, de Diego A, Marín Royo M, Moreno A, Llunell Casanovas A, Galdiz JB, Golpe R, Lacárcel Bautista C, Cabrera C, Marin A, Soriano JB, Lopez-Campos JL; CHAIN Study Investigators.
   TITLE: Changes and Clinical Consequences of Smoking Cessation in Patients With COPD: A Prospective Analysis From the CHAIN Cohort.
   Chest. 2018 Feb 22. pii: S0012-3692(18)30265-4. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.02.007. (Epub ahead of print)
   Impact factor: 7.652.
   Quartile: Q1
4. AUTHORS: Kessler R, Casan-Clara P, Koehler D, Tognella S, Viejo JL, Dal Negro RW, Díaz-Lobato S, Reissig K, Rodríguez González-Moro JM, Devouassoux G, Chavaillon JM, Botrus P, Arnal JM, Ancochea J, Bergeron-Lafaurie A, De Abajo C, Randerath WJ, Bastian A, Cornelissen CG, Nilius G, Texereau JB, Bourbeau J.
   TITLE: COMET: a multicomponent home-based disease-management programme versus routine care in severe COPD.
   Eur Respir J. 2018 Jan 11;51(1). pii: 1701612. doi: 10.1183/13993003.01612-2017. Print 2018 Jan.
   Impact factor: 12.242.
   Quartile: Q1
5. AUTHORS: Casanova C, Celli BR, de-Torres JP, Martínez-Gonzalez C, Cosio BG, Pinto-Plata V, de Lucas-Ramos P, Divo M, Fuster A, Peces-Barba G, Calle-Rubio M, Solanes I, Aguero R, Feu-Collado N, Alfageme I, De Diego A, Romero A, Balcells E, Llunell A, Galdiz JB, Marin M, Moreno A, Cabrera C, Golpe R, Lacarcel C, Soriano JB, López-Campos JL, Soler-Cataluña JJ, Marin JM.
   TITLE: Prevalence of persistent blood eosinophilia: relation to outcomes in patients with COPD.
   Eur Respir J. 2017 Nov 22;50(5). pii: 1701162.
   Impact factor: 6.44.
   Quartile: Q1
6. AUTHORS: Fernández Alvarez R, Rabec C, Rubinos Cuadrado G, Cascon Hernandez JA, Rodriguez P, Georges M, Casan P.
   TITLE: Monitoring Noninvasive Ventilation in Patients with Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome: Comparison between Ventilator Built-in Software and Respiratory Polygraphy.
   Respiration. 2017;93(3):162-169. doi: 10.1159/000454954
   Impact factor: 2.772.
   Quartile: Q1
7. AUTHORS: Ruano-Ravina A, Provencio-Pulla M, Casan Clarà P.
   TITLE: Lung Cancer Screening With Low-Dose Computed Tomography is not a Question of Logistics.
   Arch Bronconeumol. 2017 Oct;53(10):593-5
   Impact factor: 2.633.
   Quartile: Q2

• Summary of the Ana Fernández Tena seminar (17/10/2018)
• RAMPRA (Royal Academy of Medicine of Asturias) awards presented to the best PhD theses of 2017 (14/11/2018)
• An equation to improve the treatment of lung diseases: Article by Ana Fernández Tena in The Conversation (30/12/2018)