Active clinical trials for "Lung Diseases, Obstructive"

Elastosonography is an advanced ultrasound technique, nowadays available in many portable systems, allowing to measure elasticity and stiffness of parenchymatous organs. Its main current applications concern the advanced diagnostics of liver, thyroid and breast nodules. Few studies have applied elastosonography to the respiratory system, and to date no-one has evaluated the elasticity of lung parenchyma in COPD and only one in pulmonary fibrosis. The primary aim of this study is to compare the elasticity features of lung parenchyma, measured by bedside ultrasound integrated with ultrasonography, among three groups of subjects: 1. patients with COPD and/or lung fibrosis; 2. smokers with no functional evidence of COPD or fibrosis; 3. healthy non-smoking volunteers. The secondary aim is to verify the possible correlation of elastosonography-related parameters of lung elasticity/stiffness with results of lung function tests. One hundred and thirty-eight subjects (46 per group) will be enrolled in this experimental study, on both inpatient and outpatient basis. The presence or absence of COPD or fibrosis will be assessed integrating personal history, imaging tests and functional tests prior to enrolment. Smoking habits will also be carefully investigated. Excluded from the study will be all subjects with acute COPD flares, acute respiratory failure, inability to undergo lung ultrasound examination and lung function tests, cognitive impairment, severe motoric disability, cancer, poor survival prognosis. Each participant will undergo standard lung function tests and bediside ultrasound examination integrated with lung elastosonography during the same day. Lung function tests will be performed with a Carefusion MSC Body spirometer following standard procedures. Lung ultrasound will be performed by a skilled physician, using the convex probe of an Esaote Mylab Seven ultrasound system (Esaote, Genova, Italy), equipped with strain elastography module ElaXto©. The participant will remain in the sitting position for the whole ultrasound/elastography procedure, with the examiner systematically scanning intercostal spaces on both sides of the back thorax. After performing a standard lung ultrasound scan to verify the absence of consolidations or signs of respiratory diseases other than COPD, the examiner will activate the elastography module, performing little compressions with the wrist on the convex probe, to obtain adequate elastography images combining ranges of red, green and blue colors. Images will then be analyzed with the software ElaXto©, to obtain the percentage of stiffness in areas of interest of lung parenchyma. Statistical analyses will be focused on comparison of stiffness index across different groups, and on correlation of elastosonographic parameters with lung function tests (FEV1, Tiffeneau index).

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease of the respiratory system that generally develops as a result of smoking. Most people with COPD are classified as having "mild" disease severity and may not have significantly impaired lung function (e.g. flow) as measured by traditional lung function tests. However, multiple studies have shown that patients with mild disease already have significant damage to the small airways and blood vessels of the pulmonary system. This results in a considerable portion of the lung that does not participate in gas exchange, a phenomenon called physiologic dead space. Mild COPD patients develop symptoms of intolerable breathlessness early in exercise compared with healthy individuals. Previous studies have shown that pulmonary vasodilators, which locally increase blood vessel radius, may improve gas exchange and reduce symptoms of breathlessness in patients with mild COPD. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the effect of reducing dead space with a pulmonary vasodilator on the intensity of breathlessness during exercise in patients with mild COPD. This five visit, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study will test the impact of inhaled nitric oxide, a direct vasodilator, during cardiopulmonary exercise on dead space and breathlessness intensity. Use of an esophageal catheter during testing will additionally permit measurement of neural drive to breathe and pulmonary mechanics throughout the protocol. Though patients with mild COPD represent the majority of the COPD population, their symptoms remain poorly managed by current, inefficient standard of care. The proposed study will examine dead space reduction as a novel therapeutic target for improving breathlessness and exercise tolerance in patients with mild COPD.

This study was designed to test the following hypothesis: To investigate whether COPD muscles can respond to stimuli in terms of changes in fiber-type distribution.

AZD5069 is a new drug being tested for the possible treatment of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is not the first time that AZD5069 will be administered to humans in clinical trials. We are conducting this study to determine whether AZD5069 is safe and well tolerated by healthy males and females in fed and fasted states. We will compare the way the body handles this drug in the fed and fasted states, in subjects in the age group of 18 to 65 years. We will compare the way the body handles this drug between the age groups of 18 to 65 years and above 65 years. We will also be studying how quickly AZD5069 is absorbed into and cleared by the body.

The objective of this project is to validate the proposed smartphone-based activity monitor and to test its use for Motivational Interviewing based counseling for physical activity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effect of AZD3199 on the electrical activity of the heart. The effect of AZD3199 will be compared to a licensed antibiotic (moxifloxacin). Moxifloxacin effects on the electrical activity of the heart are well known. Safety and tolerability of AZD3199 and how much AZD3199 enters the blood circulation will also be assessed.

The hypothesis of this study was that acupuncture in conjunction with standard care of pulmonary rehabilitation improves outcome measures compared to pulmonary rehabilitation alone.

The aim of this study is to determine the long term effect of a self-help group in a patient education program for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

This clinical study will aid future formulation development and optimisation of AZD9668 tablets by evaluating possible effects of minor changes to the formulation and process on the rate and extent of absorption.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether comprehensive disease management program combined with best care recommended in clinical guidelines, is more effective than best care alone in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).