Active clinical trials for "Asthma"

The objective of this study was to investigate if a nurse-led telemonitoring programme is effective and cost-effective in asthmatic outpatients, aged seven years and older.

This study is designed to determine if treatment with abatacept is effective in decreasing allergic airway inflammation in mild, atopic asthmatics. Subjects will be recruited from the greater St Louis Metropolitan area. Eligible individuals will undergo a titrated skin prick test. Following baseline evaluation, fiberoptic bronchoscopy with segmental allergen challenge (SAC) will be performed. The subjects will be randomized to either placebo or abatacept. After 12 weeks of study drug, the subjects will undergo repeat SAC. The primary endpoint will be to determine if treatment with abatacept results in a 50% or greater decrease in the percentage of eosinophils recovered in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid following SAC as compared to placebo control. Secondary endpoints include measures of airway obstruction and hyperreactivity, airway inflammation and symptoms as well as determination of the safety of abatacept administration in this subject population.

Asthma is a frequent disease characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness, inflammation and remodelling. Bronchial remodelling is an abnormal repair process that contributes to the development of poorly reversible airway narrowing. It can appear very early in the evolution of the disease and involves an increased mass of bronchial smooth muscle (BSM). The mechanism of such an increase has been related with an increase in smooth muscle cell proliferation. Recently, we have demonstrated that, BSM increased proliferation is induced by an enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis in severe asthma (T. Trian et al. J Exp Med 2007). The objective of this study is to investigate the role of smooth muscle cell mitochondria in non severe asthma

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has established guidelines for treating people with asthma. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a distance learning program that aims to educate doctors on these guidelines, specifically the use of inhaled corticosteroids to treat asthma in pediatric patients.

The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of asthma that were not previously suspected, to better understand the effects of inhaled steroids on asthma and to identify new way to treat asthma. In order to take advantage of the most current scientific expertise, we (scientists at UCSF) plan to work together with Genentech Inc. We believe that working with Genentech will provide the best chance of developing new treatments for asthma.

Asthma is a common respiratory disease of unknown etiology which currently affects approximately 7.5 % of the adult population ( ). Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways. Airway inflammation is evident not only in patients with fatal asthma but also in mild asthmatics ( ). Oxidant stress, defined as inadequately controlled generation of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cells or tissues is a common feature of inflammation, and has also been documented in asthma ( , ). However, the current understanding of the relationship between the inflammation and the oxidant stress in asthmatic airways is poor. Does oxidant stress contribute to the expression of asthmatic phenotypes independently of inflammation? If so, could asthmatics benefit from supplementation of antioxidants? These questions have been nagging us since our laboratory provided credible evidence of oxidant injury in the airways of allergic asthmatics ( ). The purpose of our study is to more precisely determine 1/ the pathophysiologic role of oxidative stress, and 2/ usefulness of antioxidant therapy using vitamin E in allergic asthma.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and a major cause of morbidity in the United States. If asthma symptoms are controlled, a child with asthma can stay well and lead a normal life. Daily use of inhaled steroids controls symptoms and reduces morbidity and emergent health care utilization in children with persistent asthma, and is safe for long-term use. However, inhaled steroids are underused in community asthma care. The Telephone Asthma Program (TAP) is a series of brief, telephone calls with a trained coach to help the parent manage the child's asthma care. The coach will teach self-management skills, help the parent to use the child's asthma medicines effectively, provide support and remind the parent to go for follow-up care with the pediatrician. We hypothesized that the Telephone Asthma Program will reduce the incidence of acute exacerbations of asthma that require emergent care, improve the quality of life of children with asthma and their parents, and increase the daily use of inhaled steroids in children with persistent asthma. We evaluated the Telephone Asthma Program in a randomized controlled trial involving 362 children aged 5 to 12 years old cared for by community pediatricians. Eligible children were randomized to the TAP program or usual care by their pediatrician.

Spirometry is a recommended component of asthma diagnosis and treatment in the primary care setting, however, few primary care providers report routine use of spirometry in the provision of care for their asthma patients. Even when spirometry is used to aid in asthma severity classification, primary care providers have a high rate of failing to meet the quality goals for testing established by the American Thoracic Society. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtually delivered quality improvement (QI) program. The program is designed to train primary care providers and their medical staff in the use of spirometry to improve pediatric primary care management for children with asthma.

A study in healthy subjects and mild asthmatics to investigate Pharmacokinetics of AZD5423 when administered in different ways.

Approximately 5% of adults with asthma have difficult to control disease but these account for up to 80% of total cost of asthma due to recurrent healthcare contact including hospital admission. The reasons for "difficult asthma" are multi-factorial, but an important element in many patients is non-adherence to steroid therapy. Recent qualitative analysis by the investigators group has identified a number of both individual and group themes, related to non-adherence with steroid treatment. Many of these themes such as steroid phobia, inaccurate / lack of knowledge, negative attitudes and inability to deal with side-effects, are potentially modifiable and the investigators believe, unless these issues are addressed, at an individual patient level, adherence is unlikely to improve. This randomised parallel group study will examine a nursing intervention to try and improve adherence and as a consequence, asthma control, in a group of difficult asthmatics where non-adherence has been identified as a significant factor. The study will use a needs-led menu driven individualised intervention and will compare this to current best asthma care. The primary outcome measure will be adherence to therapy, however asthma control, lung function and asthma related quality of life, patients' attitudes to asthma and treatment and their levels of anxiety and depression will also be examined. Addressing the issue of non-adherence is fundamental to improving asthma management in this difficult group with concomitant reduction on health care costs and improvements in patients' quality of life