Active clinical trials for "Asthma"

We have developed in vitro systems including primary epithelial cell cultures and explant cultures of bronchial tissues to study the interaction between the bronchial mucosa and allergens. This approach involves culturing bronchial biopsies under optimal conditions and stimulate them with allergens thus enabling us to perform a dynamic study without the need of performing several bronchoscopies and will allow the testing of unapproved substances, which could, otherwise, not be delivered, in vivo. We wish to apply these ex vivo bronchial culture systems to assess cytokine release in moderately severe asthmatics and evaluate the effects of blocking TNF-alpha signalling using anti TNF-alpha monoclonal antibodies.

Oxidative stress is seen in children with asthma, but is hard to measure. The investigators exploring the utility of using a commercially available assay to measure oxidative stress in the urine in asthmatics. Additionally, the investigators will attempt to prove that oxidative stress is higher in children with acute asthma compared to those with stable asthma and that this stress is also higher in children with more severe clinical asthma exacerbations compared to less severe ones.

This is a prospective, non-comparative, open, observational study.

Asthma has an especially great impact on poor urban children and their families. In addition to higher asthma prevalence and morbidity, those in low SES urban areas are at risk for low health literacy. Low health literacy is associated with poorer asthma outcomes. The provision of a written asthma action plan has been shown to help with asthma management and to reduce hospitalizations and ER visits. Poor urban families who may have low literacy may need an alternative asthma action plan to convey the treatment plan. This pilot study proposes to investigate whether a plain language asthma action plan can improve parent understanding and adherence with medication instructions, compared to standard written materials, among parents of children with asthma. This is an RCT in which parents of children with asthma will be randomized to either receive a pictogram-based low literacy asthma action plan, or a standard action plan (AAAAI), to examine whether those who receive the low literacy plan have improved asthma action plan knowledge when presented with a hypothetical scenario. A second part of the study is to examine whether providers who are given the pictogram-based low literacy asthma action plan will be more likely to counsel about certain aspects of asthma management (eg. need for daily medications even when sick, spacer use, confusion between everyday and rescue inhaler)compared to providers who receive use a standard action plan (AAAAI). This is an RCT in which pediatric providers are randomized to counsel a hypothetical patient using the pictogram-based action plan or the standard action plan (AAAAI).

The aim of the research is to assess the duration of a delay in asthma diagnosis in children after the Program for Prevention of Allergic Diseases. Risk factors for delayed diagnosis of asthma in children will also be assessed. This study will answer the question of whether this ratio depends on the time, which indirectly proves that it can be changed by local intervention programs. Prove lasting effects of the Program may contribute to planning further local interventions focused on improving medical care for patients with bronchial asthma in the Lodz region, and reduce social costs associated with this disease.

The aim of this case-control study is the comparison of the cell distribution in induced sputum in young adults with asthma and in healthy controls. The study consists of two visits. At both visits subjects are asked to perform a lung function test (body plethysmography) and levels of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) are measured. At the first visit a blood sample is drawn to determine the inflammatory and allergic status of the subjects and the sputum is induced by an ultrasonic nebulizer. At the second visit another sputum sample is induced by a nozzle nebulizer. The cell distribution will be evaluated in both sputum samples.

The aim of this study is to investigate the pattern of organic volatile compounds (VOCs) in the exhaled breath detected by biosensors in adults with persistent mild asthma. The analysis of VOCs detected by biosensors in asthmatic adults will be compared with that in a control group of healthy subjects and with exhaled nitric oxide (NO). Identification of breath VOC patterns may be a completely noninvasive new technique for assessing airway inflammation. A device containing a series of nanosensors can be used for breath analysis of VOC patterns through integration with a suitable algorithm for pattern recognition. Preliminary data indicate that exhaled breath patterns detected by biosensors in healthy subjects are different from those in patients with asthma. In patients with asthma, analysis of exhaled breath using biosensors will be compared with exhaled NO measurement for studying a possible correlation with an independent method for assessing airway inflammation and with spirometry for assessing a possible correlation with lung function. Measurement of exhaled NO is a well-established, validated, and standardized method for assessing and monitoring of airway inflammation in patients with asthma who are steroid-naive. In patients with asthma, exhaled NO concentrations are correlated with blood eosinophil cell counts and with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). This study could contribute to the identification and development of a completely new non-invasive technique for assessing airway inflammation with important implications for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of patients with asthma. Establishing the effect of anti-inflammatory drugs on breath analysis by biosensors in patients with asthma is relevant for future studies aimed to use this technique in asthma management.

This study will examine if depression in a primary caregiver is associated with more hospitalization or ER visits in children with asthma. This study will also explore whether treatment for depression in the primary caregivers is associated with improvement in asthma in school-aged children. Asthma is a very common childhood disorder of airway inflammation. The causes include environmental irritants, cold temperature, and infection in the respiratory tract, and emotional factors can contribute to symptom exacerbation. However, asthma is a disease that can be well controlled if there is proper medication compliance and careful control of environmental conditions. Data suggests that psychiatric symptoms in the mothers of children with asthma are associated with more asthma related hospitalizations in children. Thus, we want to explore this question further using more specific diagnostic instruments in order to detect what types of symptoms are associated with increased asthma related service utilization. Also, we want to explore if effective treatment of the caregivers' symptoms is associated with decreased hospitalization and emergency room visits for the child.

To address the problems of disparities in asthma care and morbidity by examining the influence of environmental/genetic factors and stress on the development of asthma.

To reduce disparities in asthma among Latino children.