Active clinical trials for "Pulmonary Fibrosis"

This study will examine bacteria and toxins in the mouth, lung and digestive system that may be the cause of various diseases or symptoms. H. pylori is a bacterium that produces various toxins that may contribute to lung problems. This study will examine specimens collected from the mouth, teeth, lung, digestive tract and blood to measure H. pylori and its toxins and their effects on cells. People 18 years of age and older with or without gastrointestinal disease may be eligible for this study. These include people without a history of lung disease as well as patients with any of the following: lymphangioleiomyomatosis, asthma, sarcoidosis, other chronic or genetic lung disease (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis or eosinophilic granuloma). Participants may undergo the following tests: Blood and urine tests, chest x-ray. Measurement of arterial blood gases: A small needle is placed in an artery in the forearm to collect arterial blood. Lung function tests: Subjects breathe deeply and occasionally hold their breath. They may also receive a medication that expands the airways. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with lavage and bronchial brushing: The subject's mouth and throat are numbed with lidocaine; a sedative may be given for comfort. A thin flexible tube called a bronchoscope is advanced through the nose or mouth into the lung airways to examine the airways. Saline (salt water) is then injected through the bronchoscope into the air passage and then removed by gentle suction. Next, a small brush is passed through the bronchoscope and an area of the airway is brushed to collect some cells for examination. Mouth rinsing or teeth brushing to collect cells. Endoscopy: A small needle and catheter (thin plastic tube) are placed into an arm vein to administer fluids and medications through the vein. A sedative may be given. The throat is numbed with lidocaine and a thin flexible tube called an endoscope is inserted through the mouth and down the esophagus into the stomach and upper part of the small intestine to examine those areas.

We hypothesize that a peripheral blood biomarker or biological signature (gene or protein expression pattern) of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) will simplify and improve the accuracy of diagnosis of IIP and diagnose individuals at an earlier, more treatable, stage of their disease.

The present application proposes to study the role the composition of the pediatric CF airway microbiota plays in frequent pulmonary exacerbations in pediatric CF patients. In order to accomplish this goal the dynamics of the composition of the CF airway microbiota in two distinct subsets of pediatric patients with CF will be characterized, those with frequent pulmonary exacerbations and clinically stable children. Clinical measures of pulmonary function, patient reported symptoms, sleep quality, and antibiotic usage will be recorded, and these findings will be correlated with the lung microbiota data. This strategy promises to identify the key characteristics of the pediatric CF microbiota, which can in turn be used as noninvasive markers to identify those patients at a higher risk for experiencing repeated pulmonary exacerbations.

This research is a study to test the reliability of Hyperpolarized Xenon MRI (HXe MRI) as a biomarker in interstitial lung disease. The study is a non-randomized study to evaluate the test-retest performance of HXe MRI in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and chronic Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (cHP) as a non-invasive biomarker of disease severity and prognosis. The study will include approximately 15 subjects with IPF, 15 subjects with cHP and 10 sex and age-matched normal controls performed across 3 sites.

The Turkish Thoracic Society Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Registry (TURK-UIP) is a collaborative project to coordinate a team of investigators from various regions of Turkey. The purpose of the Registry is to collect epidemiological data on patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other causes of UIP, and to obtain information about the natural course of the disease and the treatment response.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare and severe disease with a survival median between 2 and 4 years which leads to a profound alteration of the quality of life. In thoracic oncology, the systematic and early intervention of a palliative care team result in an improvement of quality of life for patients. In the princeps study published in 2010, the early intervention of a dedicated palliative care team was compared to standard care in a randomized trial of 150 patients and shows a significant improvement : (i) of quality of life (main objective), (ii) of depression scores and even overall survival (11.6 months vs. 8.9 months, P = 0.02), (iii) a benefit in terms of understanding the diagnosis and therapeutic goals (3), (iv) diminution of adapted hospitalization in end of life (in emergency or not). Considering some analogy points between IPF and advanced lung cancer (prognosis, respiratory symptom, psychological burden), it seemed reasonable to assume that the joint systematic intervention of chest physician and palliative care team may provide a significant benefit in terms of quality of life for patients with severe IPF.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) refers to various diseases that occur idiopathic or secondary to some causes, commonly affecting the lung parenchyma, and present with varying degrees of inflammation and fibrosis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) progressing with progressive shortness of breath causes a decrease in exercise capacity and quality of life, restrictive changes in pulmonary function tests and a decrease in diffusion capacity. It has been reported that core stabilization exercises improve respiratory function, respiratory muscle strength and functional capacity in healthy individuals and some disease groups. It has also been reported that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied to lower extremity, upper extremity and back or quadriceps muscles reduces dynamic hyperinflation and dyspnea during exercise and increases exercise capacity in COPD patients.No studies have been performed using core stabilization exercises and NMES in IPF patients. It can be assumed that this therapeutic intervention may also be useful in IPF. Our study was planned to investigate the efficacy of core stabilization exercises and NMES in patients with IPF.

Systemic Scleroderma (SCS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by vascular involvement, a dysimmune condition, cutaneous and visceral fibrosis. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) affects 75% of SSc patients and is the leading cause of death in SSc. No diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers of SSc-associated ILD have been validated to date. The search for such a serum biomarker is essential to assess the severity of these patients and to help the therapeutic management. We have shown that soluble fractalkine is elevated in SSc patients, especially in SSc patients with ILD. The fractalkine is both an endothelial adhesion molecule and a chemokine that binds to the CX3CR1 receptor expressed by immune populations. It would thus reflect the vasculopathy and inflammation that lead to the fibrosing pulmonary involvement of this disease. Objectives and means: We aim to perform a low-risk interventional biomedical research which main objective is the quantitative evaluation of soluble fractalkine in SSc patients with ILD in comparison with SSc patients without ILD. This epidemiological, explanatory, analytical, single-center study will comprise three groups: 1 / SSc without ILD (control group in the context of SSc), 2/ SSc with ILD and 3/ patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (control group of the ILD). Secondary objectives are evaluation of: 1 / fractalkine levels in the IPF, 2 / correlations between fractalkine levels and severity of ILD and of SSc disease over time, 3 / correlations between fractalkine and 2 other biomarkers: KL-6 (marker of pulmonary fibrosis) and soluble CD146 (sCD146, marker of vasculopathy), 4 / predictive values of the decline in lung function of these 3 markers.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive lung disease of unknown cause for which there is no effective medical treatment. The main symptoms are increasing breathlessness and cough which can significantly impact on quality of life (QOL) often leading to anxiety and depression. The focus of disease management is shifting from pharmacological attempts to reduce disease progression to managing symptoms and a more holistic approach. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is increasingly used to treat anxiety and depression in chronic disease. Our investigators aim to determine whether CBT can reduce anxiety and depression related to symptoms and improve QOL in patients with IPF. This study will compare CBT intervention (Group 1) against standard treatment (Group 2). Patients will be recruited from a specialist IPF clinic - all patients attending with IPF who suffer from anxiety will be eligible to participate in the study. The study aims to recruit 30 patients (15 in each group). Patients will be randomly allocated into each group using an envelope concealment system. At entry a baseline visit will be conducted with information gathered regarding disease severity, hospital admissions, medication, symptoms (subjective and objective), quality of life and anxiety and depression using questionnaires and routine clinical tests. Patients will then receive CBT intervention (Group 1) or no intervention (Group 2). Patients receiving CBT will undergo a maximum of 6 (minimum of 2) individual therapy sessions. Follow up visits for both groups will be conducted at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months with the same information gathered as at the baseline visit.

Chronic heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and interstitial lung disease (i.e., pulmonary fibrosis) are common serious illnesses. Despite disease-specific medical care, people with these illnesses often left with poor quality of life (i.e., burdensome symptoms, impaired function). Furthermore, while these illnesses are leading causes of hospitalization and mortality, few people with these illnesses engage in advance care planning, the process of considering and communicating healthcare values and goals. The investigators are conducting a randomized clinical trial to study a symptom management, psychosocial care and advance care planning intervention to improve quality of life. The study is important because it aims to improve quality of life and provision of care according to peoples' goals and preferences in common, burdensome illnesses. Furthermore, this study will generate information that supports the broader dissemination and implementation of the intervention and informs the development of future palliative care and team-based interventions in the VA.