Active clinical trials for "Asthma"

Asthma and allergy is increasing in Norway and Western countries. Treatment is still mostly symptomatic. Extracts of the immunomodulatory and edible mushroom Agaricus blazei, such as Andosan™, have been shown to protect against asthma and allergy in murine models by changing the T helper cell 1(upregulation)-T helper cell 2 (downregulation) balance in the immune system. Andosan™ is produced in Japan and approved as food (mushroom juice) in Norway. Blood donors and possibly patients with pollen-derived allergy and asthma will be included in the study.The aim is to examine whether Andosan™ i) has similar clinical effects against allergy and asthma in man as it has in mice, and ii) reduces drug use and increases frequency of blood donations. Blood donors or patients who are recruited with informed consent will be given Andosan™ or placebo orally as add-on treatment to ordinary treatment for 7 weeks during the Birch pollen season, and specific IgE will be measured before, during and after the intervention, in addition to basophil activation testing and filling out of a questionnaire.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of 10-nitro-9(E)-octadec-9-enoic acid (CXA-10) in obese adult asthmatics. The study's hypothesis is that 150 mg/day of CXA-10 for 12 weeks will alleviate obesity-related airway hyper-reactivity in obese adult asthmatics.

BenraliScan aims to obtain thoracic computed tomography imaging data to predict the future level of patient response to a monoclonal antibody. Because the clinical responses under study can take many months to manifest, early identification of patients most-likely to benefit from treatment and treatment rule-out for others will save considerable time for everybody involved. The primary objective of BenraliScan is to determine the prognostic value (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value) of air-trapping measures (Expiratory/Inspiratory ratios for Mean Lung Density (MLDe/i)) detected via quantitative thoracic computed tomography at baseline for improvement in exacerbation rate (the presence of a ≥50% reduction in baseline exacerbation rate versus the absence of a ≥50% reduction in baseline exacerbation rate) at 52 weeks among eosinophilic asthma patients treated with Benralizumab.

The investigators propose a one-year, repeated measures, within-subject design to examine the impact of improved caregiver depression on child asthma outcomes. A cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) for longitudinal data will be fit using a maximum likelihood structural equation model (SEM) in order to explore longitudinal mediation between asthma outcomes (asthma control, spirometry, quality of life (QOL)) and depressive symptoms. CLPM will test whether caregiver improvement preceded child asthma improvement, and SEM will test whether improved adherence and/or decreased child anxiety/depression mediated the effect. The investigators considered a randomized control trial, but it would not be ethically acceptable to withhold medication from caregivers diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) for the proposed one-year duration of the study. It is unlikely that potential participants in the study would find this acceptable. Furthermore a controlled design is not necessary since the investigators are not testing the efficacy of antidepressants for depression, but rather the impact of improvement on caregiver depression on the child.

Depression is seen more often in people with asthma, and may lead to increased development and severity of asthma. This study will investigate whether children with depression and asthma have less allergic disease and less inflammation than children with asthma who do not have symptoms of depression. The study will also investigate whether the lungs of children with depression and asthma respond to an anticholinergic inhaler called ipratropium more than the lungs of non-depressed asthmatic children.

Asthma is a disease characterised by chronic inflammation of the airways leading to symptoms including periods of shortness of breath, wheezing and a tight chest due to airway narrowing in affected patients. Current data show that one in 12 adults are currently receiving treatment for asthma in the United Kingdom (UK), with the UK having some of the highest rates in Europe. In the winter, 30-40% of the UK population are vitamin D deficient with some asthma patients having significantly lower vitamin D levels compared to normal patients. Vitamin D has been shown to be involved in the development of immune-related disorders including asthma. Cross-sectional research has shown that reduced vitamin D levels are associated with reduced lung function, increased airway hyper-responsiveness and reduced response to glucocorticoids, suggesting vitamin D levels may also implicate asthma treatment. To date, there have been three randomised controlled trials (RCT) assessing the effect of vitamin D supplementation in adults with symptomatic asthma. These trials have not found a significant effect of vitamin D supplementation on asthma. However, these studies relied on high doses of vitamin D with long time periods between doses. There is a requirement for RCTs in adults with daily supplementation of lower doses of vitamin D as it has been suggested that daily supplementation is more effective for inducing non-classical actions of vitamin D. However, vitamin D has been found to significantly improve airway function as measured by forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in adults supplemented with 100, 000 international units (IU) vitamin D intramuscularly plus 50, 000 IU oral vitamin D weekly. Therefore, the effect of daily dosing on lung function also requires investigation. Furthermore, these trials have focussed on clinical outcomes without investigating the cellular mechanisms affording protection.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding GSK2190915 300mg or placebo tablets administered once daily to fluticasone propionate/salmeterol 250/50mcg inhalation powder administered twice daily in uncontrolled asthmatic subjects > or = 18 years of age over the course of 6 weeks treatment. The secondary objectives are to undertake an exploratory analysis of the efficacy and safety of adding montelukast 10mg administered once daily to fluticasone propionate/salmeterol 250/50mcg inhalation powder administered twice daily and to investigate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of GSK2190915 in uncontrolled asthmatic subjects > or = 18 years of age over the course of 6 weeks treatment.

This is a research study that compares the effectiveness of a web-based program (known as Puff City) and another web-based program (of internet sites such as the American Lung Association, American Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology, etc) that targets five key asthma management issues among rural youth: Improving adherence to asthma controller medication use; Improving compliance of carrying a rescue inhaler at all times for use at the first sign of asthma symptoms; Improving inhaler technique; Smoking reduction or cessation in those who are smokers; and Avoidance of second-hand smoke exposure.

Background: Nasal allergen challenge (NAC) is useful to study the pathophysiology of rhinitis, and multiple challenges may more adequately approximate natural exposure. Objective: To determine the effect of 4 consecutive daily NAC, on clinical and inflammatory parameters in rhinitics with or without asthma.

In this study, the investigators aim to develop and test the effectiveness of culturally appropriate asthma videos and other educational materials based on knowledge from this study and the investigators' previous studies. By culturally appropriate materials the investigators mean to develop health information (in the format of video and written materials) in the community own language and applied the most appealing cultural beliefs and practices in the Chinese and Punjabi communities. The investigators also aim to recommend a practical framework and to develop a measure of asthma knowledge and health literacy among immigrants from the Punjabi and Chinese communities in BC. The investigators' definition of health literacy in this study is the capability of a person to navigate and access to asthma-related information, as well as to understand, evaluate, and communicate the obtained information to improve his/her health status. The investigators' hypothesis is that audio-visual based asthma information in a subject's native language would improve a patient's knowledge and self-management of asthma in comparison to printed information.