View clinical trials related to Asthma.
Filter by:To reduce disparities in asthma among Latino children.
To evaluate asthma morbidity in low-income, African-American children and adults with asthma.
To address the problems of disparities in asthma care and morbidity by examining the influence of environmental/genetic factors and stress on the development of asthma.
Nitric oxide is an important marker of airway inflammation in asthma. Nitric oxide may have a protective role in patients with moderate to severe asthma. The investigators believe that a natural amino acid, L-arginine, that augments nitric oxide levels can decrease asthma exacerbations and improve the asthma care of moderate to severe asthma patients. This study is a randomized, placebo controlled trial in which subjects will receive either 3 months of L-arginine supplementation or a placebo. The investigators will monitor subjects' symptoms, the number of asthma exacerbations, and lung function. In addition, we will draw blood, obtain induced sputum samples and measure exhaled breath nitric oxide levels at each monthly visit.
The long-term course of asthma shows variable outcome with regard to the incidence of exacerbations and the decline of lung function over time. The present study aimed: 1. to investigate whether asthma management additionally guided by the degree of bronchial hyperresponsiveness leads to a better outcome 2. to examine the predictors among clinical and inflammatory disease markers of the long-term decline in lung function
This trial is a randomised, single-center, placebo-controlled, double blind, parallel group study in patients with asthma symptomatic on inhaled steroids. This trial will examine the efficacy and safety of 5 mg/kg doses of infliximab in patients with inhaled corticosteroid-dependent asthma. The primary objective of this study is to obtain pharmacological evidence for a role of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha in patients with asthma symptomatic on inhaled steroids and to evaluate the safety and tolerability of repeated intravenous administration of infliximab.
An epidemiologic study of patients with asthma has shown that increased intake of soy isoflavones correlates with less severe asthma. In experimental animals, treatment with the soy isoflavone genistein reduces airways inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. In vitro studies performed by us have shows that genistein reduces release of inflammatory compounds by human blood eosinophils. The purpose of this pilot study is to determine whether dietary supplementation with soy isoflavones has effects in patients with asthma. 20 patients with asthma will supplement their diet with a soy isoflavone capsule for 4 weeks. Before and after the supplementation period, we will measure lung function, exhaled nitric oxide (a marker for airway inflammation), collect exhaled breath condensate to measure levels of inflammatory mediators in the airways, and isolate peripheral blood eosinophils to assess the impact of soy isoflavones on their function. We hypothesize that dietary supplementation with soy isoflavones will reduce exhaled nitric oxide level, reduce the inflammatory mediators in the exhaled breath condensate, and reduce the ability of eosinophils to release inflammatory molecules. Identifying if these hypothesized effects of soy isoflavones exist in asthma will provide a justification for further clinical studies.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the administration of etanercept to patients with severe asthma improved their asthma related quality of life and a measure of the degree of reactivity of the airways
To compare the bronchodilator efficacy of ipratropium plus salbutamol (Combivent) with salbutamol alone given every 20 minutes for three doses in asthmatic children with severe acute exacerbation
Primary Objective: - The primary objective is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of telithromycin versus placebo as a supplement to the usual standard of care during an acute exacerbation of asthma. Efficacy will be assessed by: - Changes in the diary card summary symptom score assessed daily for 6 weeks, and - Changes in the domiciliary morning Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) following oral telithromycin treatment Secondary Objectives: The secondary objectives of the study are: - To evaluate the microbial activity of telithromycin during an exacerbation of asthma by: - Assessment of the patient's clinical improvement relative to initial C. pneumoniae or M. pneumoniae status, and - Analysis of the quantitative changes from baseline in C. pneumonia or M. pneumoniae by culture and quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). - To evaluate the safety of 10 days of oral telithromycin as a supplement to the standard of care for patients with acute exacerbations of asthma - To assess additional efficacy endpoints and health outcome evaluations following 10 days of treatment with either oral telithromycin or placebo, with either treatment used as a supplement to the standard of care for patients with acute exacerbations of asthma: - Changes and daily variability in the PEFR during the 6 weeks of study treatment, - Health status at follow-up (6 weeks) - Pulmonary function tests: - Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) - Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) - Forced Expiratory Flow Rate (FEF25-75%) - Need for additional medications (e.g., inhaled corticosteroids, oral corticosteroids, bronchodilator use), - Time to next acute exacerbation of asthma.