View clinical trials related to Lung Diseases.
Filter by:This project aims to characterize the independent effect of domestic endotoxin exposure on health status, as well as pulmonary and systemic inflammation, in former smokers with COPD. Positive findings from this study would be clinically relevant, as they would provide evidence to support aggressive reduction of ongoing endotoxin exposure in patients with COPD. The investigators also hope to make a methodological advance in the field of endotoxin exposure assessment by elucidating whether settled dust and/or airborne endotoxin measurements are the more relevant exposure of interest in epidemiological studies of respiratory disease. To fulfill the specific aims, the investigators will conduct a longitudinal study, including 75 former smokers with COPD. All subjects will have indoor air monitoring, in-home settled dust collections, home inspections as well as assessments of health status, quality of life (QOL), lung function and pulmonary and systemic inflammation.
The purpose of this study is to assess the pulmonary safety of 2 doses of Staccato Loxapine within a day in patients with COPD.
This research is being done to study mechanisms of progression of COPD and to develop treatments for it. The investigators are doing the present study to identify people age 40 and older with mild to moderate COPD who will qualify for such studies to include in a database. The study will include establishing a screening evaluation or characterization of the following two studies: - Emphysema Progression in COPD- Losartan's Effects on Airway Parameters - NA_00009980 - Sleep-Related Physiology and Inflammation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - NA_00001771
Respiration failure type 2 is loss of the lungs ability to take up oxygen (O2) and get rid of carbon dioxide (CO2). The diagnosis is based on blood gas measurement of pressures of O2 and CO2. Patients with COPD is often seen to have co-morbidity with cardiac diseases. Chronic systemic inflammation is seen in both COPD and cardiac diseases. The investigators will investigate the sleep quality, CO2-retention, O2-saturation, cardiac arrythmias and markers of inflammation in 120 patients with COPD in different stages of the disease. Our hypotheses are: - that the first signs of respiration failure type 2 is seen during sleep with alteration of sleep patterns and greater and more long-lasting retention of CO2 in the blood compared to those with a normal lung function - that the use of alcohol, zopiclone or supplementary oxygen will make these differences even greater - that cardiac arrythmias correlates with hypoxemia - that cardiac arrythmias and respiration failure correlates with degree of inflammation
ADL training of copd patients results in better execution of activities of daily living.
The aim of this study is to investigate the six-minute-walking-distance of COPD-patients with breathing oxygen in comparison to breathing normal air. Patients, who increase their walking-distance about more than 15% or 35m only because of breathing oxygen, are so-called "Oxygen Responders." The study is aimed to find attributes of Oxygen Responder and to investigate, if a patient can change the "respond" with higher performance and endurance.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by increased oxidative stress which aggravates airway and systemic inflammation. Previous studies suggested that dietary factors such as ample consumption of antioxidants might have beneficial effects in lung function in COPD patients. The investigators' primary aim is therefore to investigate prospectively whether a nutritional intervention consisted of diet rich in antioxidants such as fresh fruits and vegetables, would significantly affect lung function decline in COPD patients compared to a free diet. Methods: This is a 3-year prospective study, incorporating a run-in period of six months and outpatient clinic visits, scheduled every 6 months. Consecutive sampling was used to recruit 120 patients with COPD. At baseline and at each visit all patients were evaluated for respiratory symptoms, dietary habits, medication used and pulmonary function. Patients will be randomized either to a diet based on increased consumption of foods containing antioxidants (fresh fruits and vegetables), intervention group (IG) or, to a free diet, control group (CG). The investigators hypothesize that the results from the study will suggest that a diet rich in antioxidants may be associated with improvement in lung function in COPD patients. In this respect dietary interventions should be considered in the management of COPD.
COPD exacerbations are characterized by an excessive accumulation and activation of inflammatory cells in the airways. It is not known whether this phenomenon represents a risk for for lung damage via the release in the extracellular environment of potent cytolitic cellular granular contents such as granzymes and perforin. The investigators assess the intracellular expression of granzymes and perforin in neutrophils and large granular lymphocytes (LGL) at the onset of exacerbations compared to stable disease. The investigators hypothesize that a greater release of intracellular perforin and granzymes from neutrophils and LGL into the extracellular environment occur at exacerbations compared to stable condition and that these changes are more pronounced in COPD patients than in subjects without COPD who undergo respiratory infection.
Scleroderma is a rare, long-term autoimmune disease in which normal tissue is replaced with dense, thick fibrous tissue. Normally, the immune system helps defend the body against disease and infection. In people with scleroderma, the immune system triggers fibroblast cells to produce too much of the protein collagen. The extra collagen becomes deposited in the skin and organs, causing hardening and thickening that is similar to the scarring process. Although scleroderma most often affects the skin, it also can affect other parts of the body, including the lungs, and in its most severe forms scleroderma can be life-threatening. Scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease is one example of a life-threatening scleroderma condition. In people with symptomatic scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease, scarring occurs in the delicate lung tissue, compromising lung function. The purpose of this study is to determine whether people with symptomatic scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease experience more respiratory benefits from treatment with a 2-year course of mycophenolate mofetil or treatment with a 1-year course of oral cyclophosphamide.
Treatment in interstitial lung diseases (ILD) is frequently ineffective. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an excellent therapeutic option in another chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This prospective randomized controlled study aims to evaluate the short and long-term effects of PR in patients with ILD. For this purpose, 60 ILD patients will be randomly assigned to a PR or a control group. The investigators hypothesize that PR will improve exercise capacity, increase muscle force, reduce dyspnea and improve quality of life and daily life activities in ILD patients.