Active clinical trials for "Asthma"

This study involves in-depth interviews with parents of urban children with asthma and focus groups with additional parents in order to understand their attitudes and beliefs about smoking.

Gene and protein bank to study disease modifying and susceptibility genes and proteins in urban patients with asthma.

Asthmatics have inflammation in the large airways (tubes through which air travels in and out of the lungs). The large airways are located in the central lung. New research shows that asthmatics also have inflammation in the small airways. The small airways are located in the peripheral lung (the parts of the lung away from the central lung). Until now, most of the inhaled medications available have been made up of big particles that never reach the peripheral lung. The purpose of this study is to try to measure the level of inflammation in the peripheral lung in asthmatics and see if this inflammation can be decreased with different types of inhaled corticosteroids. The investigators will check airway inflammation before and after use of an inhaled corticosteroid that has a large particle size and should only reach the large airways (Flunisolide-CFC), and before and after use of an inhaled, small particle corticosteroid that should reach both the large and small airways (Flunisolide-HFA). Subjects will make 6 study visits over two phases of the study. In the first phase, the investigators will collect baseline information about subjects while they are using placebo (inactive substance). In the second phase, subjects will take either the large or small particle corticosteroid. Visits will involve questionnaires and various tests measuring lung function (such as spirometry, forced oscillation, and methacholine challenge). Exhaled nitric oxide will be measured as an indication of inflammation. Subjects will also measure and make note of lung function at home twice daily using a peak expiratory flow meter. Two of the visits will involve fiberoptic bronchoscopy so that the investigators may collect cells and tissue samples without surgery. Another two of the visits will involve the use of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans to indirectly evaluate disease in distant parts of the lungs.

This is an epidemiologic study, examining environmental exposures and affect on immune development.

Although asthma is likely to be a heterogeneous disease or syndrome, three factors and/or events repetitively emerge for their ability to significantly influence asthma inception in the first decade of life: immune response aberrations, which appear to be defined best by the concept of cytokine dysregulation; lower respiratory tract infections (in particular RSV); and some form of gene by environment interaction that needs to occur at a critical time period in the development of the immune system or the lung. It remains to be firmly established, however, how any one or all of these factors, either independently or interactively, influence the development of childhood asthma. Thus, our efforts to determine and define the importance of these three factors to asthma pathogenesis are the focus and goal of this current grant application.

To identify the role of irritant exposure in adult-onset asthma by simultaneously using both clinical and case control methods in a community-based perspective study of asthma incidence.

To examine the role of family processes in asthma regulation in three groups of children with mild to moderate asthma.

To evaluate the role of maternal diet and birth weight in the etiology of childhood asthma and other allergic disorders.

To prospectively examine the association between a specific chronic life stressor (i.e., intimate violence exposure) and adult asthma in women.

The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between body posture and dynamic balance in adults with childhood-onset asthma and compare them to a non-asthmatic control group matched for gender, age, weight, and height.