Active clinical trials for "Asthma"

The aim of this study is to assess and compare efficacy and safety of BI 54903 at medium doses twice daily and high doses once daily (evening dosing) and placebo over an 12-week treatment period in asthmatic patients aged 12 to 65 years inadequately controlled on low dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy as demonstrated by a decrease in Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) (not less than 10 %, and equal to or less than 25%) and an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)-6 score of not less than 1.5 at time of randomisation.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of vitamin D3 on severe asthmatic patients. Vitamin D3 may alter the response of these patients to conventional steroid therapy, making them more responsive to the latter form of treatment. Patients will be treated daily with an oral dose (2,000 IU) of vitamin D3 for one month and their clinical and serological parameters, and immune function, will be evaluated. Results from pre- and post-vitaminD3 treatment will be compared.

The purpose of this study is: To compare neutrophilia, eosinophilic inflammatory markers and asthma symptom indices between smokers and non-smokers. To elucidate the mechanism by which cigarette smokers are resistant to corticosteroids.

Exercise has been shown to have extensive health benefits both in normally functioning adults as well as in adults with asthma. A program of regular aquatic exercise may have unique benefits in the asthmatic population because of the known aerobic capacity development typical of such programs, combined with the unique value of immersion-produced improvements in respiratory endurance and cardiac output. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of a 12 week long aquatic endurance training program on several physiological and psychological parameters related to coronary heart disease and type II diabetes in an asthmatic population.

The hypothesis for this study is that potent anti-secretory therapy with high dose PPI improves asthma control regardless of either asthma severity or the presence of GERD symptoms.

This study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of nebulized IVX-0142, a novel anti-allergic drug, to inhibit allergen-induced airway narrowing in patients with allergic asthma and the related increased sensitivity of the airways to other substances, as well as to investigate a possible anti-inflammatory effect of the drug in the airways.

The G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a family of proteins expressed at the cell membrane. They are composed of 380 members involved in the important functions of the organism and are privileged therapeutic targets.Their expression is highly modulated depending on the metabolic state of the cells, in particular in pathological situations.our study proposes to determine whether GPCR expression modulation could be used as a biomarker, either prognostic or diagnostic, of treatments.To do so , the investigators will determine the expression profile of the 380 human GPCRs in human blood cell samples in two chronic inflammatory pulmonary diseases : asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ) . These have opposed inflammatory infiltrates : asthma is associated with eosinophil and Th2 lymphocyte infiltration whereas COPD shows neutrophils and macrophages within the airways with a Th1 lymphocytic population. The GPCR signature (transcriptomic) will be determined on total white blood cells as well as on isolated mono- and poly-nuclear populations obtained from healthy subjects and patients selected at the asthma or COPD consultation. The expression profiling analysis will reveal sub-groups of GPCRs whose expression is modified in disease. The specificity of the variation of expression of these biomarker sub-populations will be determined, by a study recruiting a hundred patients and controls per disease on this restraint number of genes. The outcomes of the project will lead to establish GPCR "identity cards" for these chronic inflammatory diseases, which might therefore be used as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers to follow the evolution of a disease or the efficacy of a given treatment. In addition, detailed analysis of the identified GPCRs will lead to propose new therapeutic targets for inflammatory diseases. This study has therefore the objective of validating GPCRs as potential biomarkers for inflammatory diseases.

The Housing, Heating and Health Study has enrolled 409 households with ineffective heaters, who have a child with asthma between 6 and 12 years. In the winter of 2005, houses were insulated and baseline measures taken of indoor temperatures, nitrogen dioxide, with more intensive indoor air quality monitoring in a sub-sample of 33 homes. Objective data are being collected on the household's health and energy usage. The households randomly assigned to the intervention group will have new heaters installed over the summer. Results will be available after the follow-up data collection in 2006.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether oglemilast is safe and effective in the treatment of allergen-induced asthma.

The four respiratory drugs being researched in this study have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are currently available by prescription at your drug store. One of the drugs is for the treatment of asthma alone, one is for treatment of SAR alone, and one is for treatment of both SAR and asthma. In addition, you will also receive one asthma rescue drug (albuterol) that is to be used for any breakthrough asthma symptoms that you may experience throughout the study. The purpose of this study is to see how well your asthma and SAR are controlled when taking one of the medicine combinations