View clinical trials related to Airway Inflammation.
Filter by:The aim of the study is to examine possible changes in lung function, nitric oxide levels and systemic inflammatory markers in cement dust exposed workers, during one shift (6-8 hours).
The study intends to focus on health effects and symptoms related to particle exposure from wood burning stoves The objective is to determine whether moderate exposure to particles from wood smoke in a real life situation causes an systemic inflammatory response in peripheral blood or in lower airways. 24 healthy subjects (normal healthy subjects and mild asthmatics to study the asthmatic response) is selected for the study. A randomized double blind crossover procedure will be followed with a PM exposure concentration of 200ug/m3, 400ug/m3 or clean air as the control exposure. Exposure will take place in a climate chamber using wood burning in an appropriate wood stove.
This is a 2-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study comparing the anti-inflammatory effects of low, medium, and high dose mometasone furoate/formoterol fumarate (MF/F) metered dose inhaler (MDI) formulation and medium dose mometasone furoate (MF) dry powder inhaler (DPI) and MDI formulations in adults and adolescents with persistent allergic asthma.
This study will test whether pioglitazone hydrochloride (Actos (Registered Trademark) Registered Trademark) is effective for treating patients with asthma who do not respond to standard therapy. Experiments have shown that this drug, which is used to treat patients with diabetes, may be effective for treating asthma. People between 18 and 75 years of age who have had asthma for at least a1 year and whose symptoms are not well controlled with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids with or without long-acting bronchodilators may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with breathing tests, an allergy skin test, chest x-ray, electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram (ultrasound test of the heart), blood tests, and DEXA scan (an x-ray to measure bone thickness) to make sure they are eligible for the study. Then, participants undergo tests and procedures in the following study phases: Phase 1 Participants are given a device to measure and record their lung function and asthma symptoms at home each morning and night for 4 weeks before starting the study medication. Lung function is also measured at clinic visits before and after inhaling a bronchodilator medicine. Before starting the study medication, participants have a sputum induction (sputum collection test). For this test, the participants inhale a salt-water mist and are asked to collect sputum into a plastic cup. Phase II Participants are randomly selected to receive either pioglitazone hydrochloride or placebo (a look-alike pill with no active ingredient) once a day for 10 weeks. They return to the clinic after 2 weeks to repeat the tests done in Phase 1 and to monitor any reactions to the study drug or placebo. If there are no problems, the amount of medication is increased once, and then they return for follow-up evaluations every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. Pulmonary function tests, sputum collection and DEXA scan are repeated after 10 weeks on medication. Phase III Patients return for follow-up 1 month after stopping the medication or placebo to monitor their asthma.
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.
The aim of the study is to examine inflammation in the airways and in peripheral blood, in workers in a cement plant i Norway.