View clinical trials related to Asthma.
Filter by:The objective of this study is to examine the functional effects of methacholine challenge on small airways using three different nebulizers to generate particles with HMAD suitable for distribution in small, intermediate and large airways.Pulmonary function will be assessed using plethysmography and impulse oscillation techniques. Eight asthmatic subjects (>18 years, both sexes) who are stable clinically and require only intermittent ß2-agonist treatment will be recruited to undergo methacholine challenges for an in vivo, dose-finding observational study. Three separate methacholine challenges will be carried out using each of the three different nebulizers. After each challenge, pulmonary function tests will be performed on subjects to assess functional changes in large and small airways. Results of the tests will be compared between the three nebulizers. These experiments will demonstrate whether or not functional changes occur in small airways in response to methacholine, as measured by pulmonary function tests after selectively targeting small airways using the nebulizer which generates small particles. The results from these experiments will give us a better understanding of the role of small airways in methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in asthmatics, and will compare sensitivity of plethysmography compared to forced oscillation for detecting changes in small airways.
Asthma is a common, serious illness among children in the United States. Improving hand cleanliness and hygiene may prevent the spread of viruses that can cause asthma exacerbations. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based hand sanitizer program at reducing the frequency of exacerbations in children with asthma.
The purpose of this trial is to verify if the test treatment BDP 250 mcg/salbutamol 100 mcg HFA pMDI fixed combination is non-inferior to BDP 250 mcg/salbutamol 100 mcg pMDI fixed combination given with the conventional CFC propellant (Clenil® Compositum 250, Chiesi Farmaceutici) in terms of Pulmonary Function (morning PEF).
The aim of the study is to test the hypothesis that the allergic airway inflammation in asthmatic patients will be enhanced after exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP). In order to test this in a controlled study, the researchers combine controlled exposure to carbon black model UFP with the well-established model of a segmental allergen challenge, which allows the researchers to safely induce circumscript allergic inflammation in the lung in mild asthmatics. The effect of the UFP on allergic inflammation will be controlled by an inhalation of clean air in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design.
The contribution of diesel exhaust (DE) to health, especially children's health, is of tremendous public health interest. DE has been associated with worsening asthma and allergies, among other important health effects. Reducing DE exposures has become a major regulatory initiative, and federal, state, and local jurisdictions are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in retrofitting diesel engines in school buses and other changes to reach this goal. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent regulations require all on-road diesel vehicles to change to low emission engines and ultra-low-sulfur fuels by 2007 (US EPA '00). In spring 2003, the U.S. EPA announced a nationwide voluntary school bus retrofit initiative. In July 2003, the Washington Legislature enacted a statewide "Diesel Solutions" program that provides 25 million dollars by 2008 to retrofit school diesel buses with cleaner burning engines and fuels, making it one of the largest and most active voluntary school bus retrofit program in the country. If risk assessment estimates are accurate, these changes will have a large public health impact, especially on children who ride school buses daily. However, no studies to-date have rigorously examined school children's exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) and its health effects, nor such a significant change in vehicular pollution control. We propose to seize this opportunity of a large natural experiment taking place in the Puget Sound area and conduct a study to assess health effects from diesel bus exhaust before and after the retrofit of diesel bus fleets between 2005 and 2007. The specific aims of the study are to: 1. Determine whether asthmatic children changing to retrofitted buses with cleaner fuels and engines have a reduction in sub-clinical and clinical asthma severity. 2. Determine if increased levels of DE exposure lead to an increase in acute clinical and sub-clinical features of asthma in children. 3. Quantify the levels and changes in particle and toxic gas exposures to DE in 3 groups of children commuting to school by retrofitted buses or private cars, old diesel buses to be retrofitted later, and old diesel buses through the study. Sub-aim 3: Use the time-activity information, personal exposure measurements, and on-bus monitoring data to construct an exposure model to predict individual exposures to DE for all subjects.
We wish to investigate the effects of 3 weeks of orally administered fish oil supplements on the airway sensitivity (provoking dose to cause a 15% fall in FEV1, PD15) to inhaled mannitol (AridolTM). Mannitol, an osmotic stimulus has been demonstrated as a useful model for exercise-induced asthma. We also wish to investigate if there is any associated improvement associated with selected markers of airway inflammation that can be measured in the sputum, blood, urine and exhaled breath condensate. Oral fish oil supplements have recently been demonstrated to be effective inhibitors of exercise-induced asthma, in association with an inhibition of markers of inflammation, over a 3 week treatment period. This finding has important implications in the treatment of asthma as this is a faster and more effective improvement than what is seen with inhaled corticosteroids on exercise-induced asthma. This observation requires validation and further investigation. We wish to study this in two patient groups; (a) steroid naïve asthmatics taking beta2 agonist when required and (b) asthmatics taking regular inhaled corticosteroids < 1000 mcg/day.
This study aims at determining the patterns of asthma remission, the prevalence of these different patterns, the various factors associated with such remissions and possible recurrences of asthma, in order to determine the mechanisms involved in these processes. The investigators therefore want to document these specificities in subjects in complete remission of their asthma, and those in only symptomatic remission of their asthma, in comparison with mildly symptomatic asthmatic subjects and healthy controls.
The purpose of this study is to study the effects of once daily inhaled ciclesonide at varying doses on exercise provoked asthma symptoms, fall in lung function after exercise and sputum characteristics.
To investigate the change in patient's asthma symptom control using ACQ scores after 4 to 6 weeks of Symbicort Turbuhaler (budesonide/ formoterol) in SMART approach.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of Symbicort use in patients prescribed Symbicort as maintenance and reliever therapy.