Active clinical trials for "Respiratory Tract (Lung and Bronchial) Diseases"

The role of surgical resection in the management of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is still controversial. The selection criterion to perform either Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP) or Pleurectomy/Decortication (P/D) is dependent not only on the cardio-pulmonary status of the patient, tumor stage and intraoperative findings but also on surgeons' decision and philosophy. There are no established guidelines. Radical Pleurectomy (RP) competes against EPP as surgical therapy modality. Both surgical approaches are cytoreductive treatment options. The aim is to remove all gross disease and to achieve macroscopic complete resection. Originally P/D was a palliative option for controlling pleural effusion. But lung-sparing surgery for MPM seems to be an alternative to patients unsuitable or unwilling to undergo EPP in a multimodality therapy concept. Most studies evaluating multimodality therapies for MPM are based on retrospective analyses and their interpretation is difficult because of inhomogeneous patient groups studied. The aim of our study was to analyze the feasibility and results of RP as surgical therapy modality in a standardized trimodality therapy concept.

Sarcoidosis is a heterogeneous multisystem disorder of unknown etiology which often presents with bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, pulmonary infiltration and ocular and skin lesions. In addition to possible changes in forced vital capacity (FVC) and carbon monoxide transfer factor (TLCO), a higher prevalence of clinical depression, reduced health status and exercise intolerance have been observed in patients with sarcoidosis. Reduced health status has been related to decreased pulmonary function, depressive symptoms, and to respiratory muscle weakness. Exercise capacity is believed to be limited by dyspnea, an insufficient heart rate response, decreased arterial oxygen tension during exercise, excessive and inefficient ventilation and by respiratory muscle weakness. In the past, exercise capacity was shown to be limited by skeletal muscle weakness in patients with chronic pulmonary or cardiac disease. 67% of the sarcoidosis patients studied by Miller et al terminated their peak exercise test due to "leg complaints". Skeletal muscle weakness is therefore still assumed to be present in patients with sarcoidosis. Treatment with oral corticosteroids, clinical symptoms of depression, myositis, self-reported complaints of fatigue and high circulating levels of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are all present in patients with sarcoidosis and can all affect skeletal muscle force and exercise capacity. Additionally, low levels of circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which can be induced by high levels of TNF-α, and high circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 (CXCL8) have been associated with skeletal muscle weakness. These interleukins are part of the current concept of the immunopathogenesis of sarcoidosis16 and may be raised in patients with stable sarcoidosis. Recent studies have shown that pulmonary rehabilitation program can lead to improve in the health status and anxiety among patients with chronic obstructive lung disease .However, no study has evaluated the role of pulmonary rehabilitation among patients with sarcoidosis.

The aim of this study to evaluate clinical efficacy of tiotropium in patients with airflow obstruction due to Tuberculosis (TB) destroyed lung.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder in children (2-3%). OSAS in turn, is associated with significant behavioral, learning, and heart problems. Adenotonsillectomy (T&A, meaning the removal of tonsils and adenoids) is the most common treatment for the problem .Diagnosis of OSAS in children is based on overnight polysomnography (sleep study). Recent studies suggest that upper airway and systemic inflammatory changes exists in school-age children and adults with OSAS, and that anti inflammatory therapy can improve respiratory parameters during sleep and reduce adenoid size, similar to surgery. However, there are no data in the literature on inflammatory changes in infants with the disorder. Healthcare resources utilization, a sensitive marker for diseases is consumed by young children (<3y) with OSAS more then healthy children, from their first year of life We hypothesize that infants and young children with OSAS present local inflammatory changes of the airways as well as systemic inflammation (in the blood or urine) that contribute to the learning, growing and heart associated medical problems. The Aims of the present study are to characterize the local and systemic inflammatory changes of young children with OSAS, and to evaluate their associated medical problems at diagnosis and after therapy (T&A) If indeed inflammation is "responsible" for the development of OSAS at such a young age it should be reduced following therapy (i.e. T&A). In such a case bio-markers may become a part of the algorithms for diagnosis and follow up of such patients.

This work will focus on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathways in lung diseases by measuring HO-1 in induced sputum and CO in exhaled air in cases of four respiratory diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), occupational lung diseases (OLD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD).

We aim to test our method for measuring chemosensitivity (the ventilatory response to a change in carbon dioxide), which uses sinusoidal carbon dioxide stimuli. Hypotheses: Carbon dioxide sensitivity is dependent on the cycle time over which we administer the gas (frequency). Chemoreflex gain decreases as deadspace increases.

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax most commonly occurs in young, tall, lean males. The estimated recurrence rate is 23-50% after the first episode and increases to 60% after the second pneumothorax. The pathogenesis of this benign disease remains unclear. Generally, rupture of the emphysematous change or blebs in the apex of the lung is considered as the cause of pneumothorax. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the molecular pathogenesis of blebs formation or emphysematous change of the lung in these young, healthy patients.

The ACRIN 7151 trial will use medical records abstraction data from participants with extracolonic findings (ECFs) reported from the ACRIN 6664 National CT Colonography Trial to: 1) measure incidence of diagnostic imaging, hospitalization, and interventional procedures associated with ECFs reported on computed tomography colonography (CTC), delineated by type of ECF; 2) determine potential predictors of follow-up diagnostic imaging, hospitalization, and interventional procedures, delineated by type of ECF; and 3) evaluate the clinical/pathologic diagnoses associated with indeterminate but potentially significant ECFs. These data can be used to incorporate ECFs into existing models on the cost-effectiveness of CTC in colorectal cancer screening and can potentially be used to develop guidelines for the reporting and management of ECFs.

COPD is ranked number 3 by the WHO list of important diseases worldwide and is the only disease with increasing mortality. The pathogenesis of cigarette smoke-induced COPD is obscure, therefore more insight is needed to design effective anti-inflammatory agents. Recently it has become clear that cigarette smoke-induced inflammation is not only present in the lungs but also in the blood, and that this systemic inflammation has important consequences for the clinical expression of COPD. The investigators hypothesize that healthy individuals who are susceptible to cigarette smoking demonstrate a higher and aberrant systemic inflammatory response to cigarette smoke. This susceptibility is caused by heterogeneous factors and is associated with various polymorphic genes that interact with each other and with the environment. Objective: To study systemic inflammation in individuals who are or are not susceptible to develop COPD. To characterize the switch to chronicity of the systemic inflmmatory response in COPD To determine whether the type and severity of the systemic inflammation contributes to the clinical outcome of COPD To compare between subjects who are or are not susceptible to develop COPD in peripheral blood, the corticosteroid responsiveness in vitro, and to unravel underlying mechanisms. To study the role of candidate genes that may play a role in the development of fixed airway obstruction, and to identify clues for patient's responsiveness to specific drugs To develop new biological and clinical markers for the early diagnosis and monitoring of COPD To define possible mediators involved in the early induction of COPD in susceptible smokers, and to define new drug targets

Non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts 85% of all lung cancer.The development of brain metastasis diminished life expectancy to less than one year with a median survival of less than three months. In NSCLC cancer, approximately 50% of patients with locally advanced disease develop brain metastasis at some time during the natural of disease. The central nervous system constitutes the first site of recurrence in 15 to 40% of these patients. Microarrays evaluate the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of lung cancer.There are no studies that specifically evaluate the relationship between a genetic profile of NSCLC and metastasis to the CNS, with the purpose of distinguishing a subgroup of patients that will benefit of prophylactic treatment.What is the association between a genetic profile on NSCLC and the development of CNS metastasis.Obtaining a genetic profile from the primary NSCLC tumor cells, by using microarrays, we can predict the development of CNS metastasis arise a subgroup of patients that could benefit from prophylactic cranial radiation with which their quality of life and prognosis most probably will increase.Objective:Determine the association between a genetic profile from the primary tumor cells and the development of central nervous system metastasis in patients with non small-cell lung cancer.A genetic profile from the primary tumor cells are associated with the development of central nervous system metastasis in patients with NSCLC. A clinical, prospective, analytic, open, non randomized, prognostic and observational cohort with 66 patients with NSCLC who authorize a biopsy study from February, 2008 to December, 2012, INMEGEN institute will be in charge of performing the microarrays and the computer analysis in order to obtain the different genetic profiles that will be differentially expressed related with CNS metastasis risk profiles. Patients will be followed-up by means of the external consult of lung neoplasms. The statistical analysis will be performed using tests like Student's t or Mann-Whitney's U test. A multivariate analysis of logistic regression will be performed. Global survival time will be analyzed using Kaplan-Meier's technique and the comparison between groups will be performed with log-rank test. The adjustment for potential confusors will be performed using multivariate regression analysis. For result representation, we will use tables and graphs and pertinent measures will be taken to disclose the study.