Active clinical trials for "Asthma"

Physical activity is mandatory to the optimal development and health of children. The presence of asthmatic manifestations may influence the comportment of children and its family toward exercise and practice of sports. There no scientific argument to advice a reduction of physical activity in asthmatic children, but previous studies showed that physical activity is reduced in asthmatic children. The aim of this observational study is to evaluate the existing factors leading to this reduction of physical activity in asthmatic children and their families.

This study will investigate the interaction between GSTP1 / TNFa polymorphisms and passive smoking in children with asthma/wheezing. Contemporary second hand-smoke exposure will be confirmed by laboratory testing.

This study raises two main hypotheses: 1) Asthmatics patients who present with bronchial hypersecretion differ phenotypically from asthmatic patients without hypersecretion and 2) mucins in asthmatic patients with hypersecretion of bronchial mucus and the expression of TLRs differ from non-mucus hypersecretory asthmatics patients.

Background: Asthma and COPD are considered different diseases but many patients share characteristics of both entities. This has been termed "COPD-asthma overlap syndrome". Study objective: To examine: (a) the frequency of the overlap phenotype among patients referred for pulmonary function testing and, (b) the impact of this phenotype on the therapeutic management and the quality of life of these patients as compared with patients with COPD only and asthma only. Methods: Type of study: Observational, cross-sectional. Study subjects: Patients referred for pulmonary function test diagnosed with airway obstruction (FEV1/FVC < 0.7) willing to sign an informed consent. Study procedures: Spirometry will be performed before and after the administration of a bronchodilator. Respiratory questionnaire: Questionnaires about smoking habits, past history of asthma and wheezing, current medications and history of exacerbations will be administered at inclusion. Questionnaire on medication utilization will be administered by telephone one month after inclusion. Quality of life: Will be assessed using the Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Working definitions: The following definitions will be adopted: a) COPD only: smoking history > 10 pack/years and post-bronchodilator (BD) FEV1/FVC ratio of < 0.70; b) Asthma only: (1) presence of wheezing in the last year plus a minimum post-BD increase in FEV1 or FVC of 12% and 200 ml; (2) prior physician diagnosis (before age 40); and c) both COPD-Asthma (the overlap group) - the combination of the two. Outcome measures: The clinical outcome is the prevalence rate of the phenotypes. Patient-reported outcomes will include the utilization of medication, the number of exacerbations, and quality of life.

This observational study aims at developing and validating a simple questionnaire to be routinely applied in the clinical practice, for the evaluation of the quality of life in children with concomitant asthma and allergic rhinitis. The study consists of two phases: Phase 1: Development of the RAPP-children questionnaire starting from the validated RHINASTHMA-children questionnaire. Phase 2: Administration and validation of the RAPP-children questionnaire. 150 children with concomitant asthma and allergic rhinitis will be followed-up for one month. Both at baseline and after one month, the RAPP children and several other standardized questionnaires will be administered.

The TRACK ("Test for Respiratory and Asthma Control in Kids") questionnaire is a validated instrument to evaluate the control of respiratory symptoms in young children. The TRACK questionnaire was developed in English and a version in Portuguese is not available or validated, purpose of the present project.

There is a need for people to take part in research studies to learn more about diseases and how to treat them. The Registry for Asthma Characterization and Recruitment 2 (RACR2) will create a database of participants with asthma and nasal allergies, or risk factors for these conditions, who are potentially eligible for future Inner City Asthma Consortium (ICAC) trials. The registry database will include assessments of various asthma and allergy characteristics to achieve a more efficient, selective recruitment of these participants for other protocols.

The proposed study will utilize a survey format to examine the attitudes, perceptions, and practices of primary care providers in the Delta region of Arkansas.

We hypothesize that exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) at the NCAA Division I collegiate level is over diagnosed, while poorly controlled asthma resulting in exercise-related symptoms in this same population may be under diagnosed, being erroneously attributed to EIB. This project will test individuals self-identified as having exercise induced bronchospasm or asthma, as well as gender-matched controls from the same sport, with eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation to assess for the presence of EIB or asthma. By making the correct diagnosis, improved health outcomes may be achieved and athletic performance may be enhanced.

The purpose of this study is to determine the percentage of patients who has reached the GINA guideline of asthma treatment after receiving any inhaled corticosteroid for 3 months or longer in actual clinical practice. Such percentage for each level of severity - mild, moderate and severe persistent asthma as well as the differences of these rates will also be explored.