Active clinical trials for "Lung Diseases"

Early initiation of treatment for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can prevent several of the long term problems associated with the condition. However, many RA patients develop lung inflammation and scarring, called 'interstitial lung disease' (RA-ILD), contributing to early death in 1 in 5 people. There is no proven treatment for these patients and some medications for RA can in fact worsen their lung disease. There is a need therefore to find safe medications that can not only control RA joint disease, but also prevent progression of RA-ILD. Abatacept is an approved drug for treating RA and is used widely. It is a newer RA medication, with a unique mechanism of action, and it has been shown to prevent progression of joint damage and improve physical function. The investigators aim to assess the safety of this medication in patients with RA-ILD and improve our understanding of the mechanism of lung damage in rheumatoid disease. The investigators will perform a small clinical trial to assess the feasibility of performing a larger randomized controlled trial. A total of 30 patients with RA-ILD will be treated with abatacept infusions fortnightly for the first month, then every 4 weeks for a total of 20 weeks. In order to be eligible for the study, a patient must be able to provide written informed consent, be aged ≥18 years, and have interstitial lung disease that has not responded to or progressed over 6 months despite conventional immunosuppression. Change in lung function (forced vital capacity) at 24 weeks will be evaluated. To assess the mechanisms that may be involved with the development of ILD, the investigators will assess the effects of abatacept on biomarkers obtained from the blood and the lung (bronchoalveolar lavage), including markers of infection (the lung microbiome).

The purpose of this study is to determine whether inspiratory muscle training is effective to improve breathless and exercise intolerance in symptomatic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) plus chronic heart failure (HF).

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), also known as chronic lung disease (CLD), is a major complication of premature birth and is associated with a significant increased risk of complications including death. Diuretics have been used for decades in babies with BPD and are considered a standard of care. Patients receive electrolyte supplementation to replace the electrolytes removed by the diuretics. Spironolactone is not as good as other diuretics at removing extra fluid, but it is different from chlorothiazide and furosemide because instead of removing potassium, it actually can increase potassium levels in our body. Spironolactone is used with chlorothiazide to try to minimize the potassium lost; therefore, reduce the electrolyte supplementation needed. However, studies have suggested that preterm babies aren´t developed enough to appropriately respond to spironolactone. Also, one study has shown that adding spironolactone to chlorothiazide in patients with BPD has no effect on whether or not patients receive electrolyte supplementation. This study will examine whether there is a difference in the amount of electrolyte supplementation between patients receiving chlorothiazide only or chlorothiazide plus spironolactone. the investigators hypothesize there will be no difference in the amount of electrolyte supplementation between the two groups.

The investigators are studying the effect of a single dose Opioid drug (Morphine) on dyspnea and exercise tolerance in COPD patients.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by the obstruction is not fully reversible airway, where the severity of the disease and the prognosis is not determined solely by changes in lung function. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary program of care for patients with chronic respiratory diseases, individually designed to optimize physical and social performance and autonomy of these patients, promoting improvement in functional exercise capacity, quality of life, reducing dyspnea, frequency and duration of hospitalizations and reduce the frequency of exacerbations of the disease. The overall objective of the research is to evaluate the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation program on exercise capacity, lung function, quality of daily life and reduction of dyspnea in patients with COPD. A study type randomized, open-label trial following the recommendations of the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) will be held. The study will be conducted at the Clinic Physiotherapy Course of the School with a sample of 58 patients. The intervention will be performed sessions three times a week for 16 weeks (8 weeks for assessment and 8 weeks for adaptation and (pulmonary rehabilitation training). The PR (pulmonary rehabilitation) will last 60-120 minutes each.O group A (control) will receive treatment of traditional pulmonary rehabilitation and without resistive training for upper limb (UL) and group B will receive the same treatment control with additional training of upper limb strength.

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of muscle training, the degree of dyspnea and aerobic capacity in patients over 50 with COPD, in a health care institution provider in Antioquia. Question: What is the effectiveness of muscle training, in the degree of dyspnea and aerobic capacity in COPD patients over 50 years, in a health service institution provider in the department of Antioquia? Hypothesis: Muscle training causes changes in the degree of dyspnea and aerobic capacity, other than the breathing exercises and relaxation Design: Randomized clinical trial with allocation and blinding of the autcomes assesor. Participants: COPD patients stage II and II, male and female, over 50 years old, who are attending to a community health service provider in the department of Antioquia. Intervention: A physiotherapeutic intervention using PNF technique was applied to the experimental physiotherapy group versus Yoga sessions applied to the other group. Twelve weeks protocol performing three sessions per week. Outcome measures: Dyspnea degree and aerobic capacity was measured using the MMRC scale and the six minute walking test respectively at the begining and the end of the study.

Several impairing factors contribute to physical limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as deconditioning, muscle dysfunction and physical inactivity. The available literature clearly indicates that these therapeutic targets benefit from exercise training in patients with COPD and, currently, the key point is not whether patients should or not exercise, but which is the specific contribution of each exercise modality to this population. About this topic, the characteristics of a physical training program to be offered to patients have been a point discussed among researchers in this field, although recently the high-intensity training has been recognized as superior in comparison to the low-intensity training. Literature also indicates that, in order to change the sedentary lifestyle of patients with COPD, long-term training programs are indicated. However, a doubt still remains: if long-term programs are one of the key points to reduce physical inactivity, it is not yet clear whether it is necessary to include high-intensity exercises in that long-term program. If the duration is the only factor influencing the outcomes of the program, thus the intensity of training could be reduced, increasing the adherence of patients to the protocol. Based on this hypothesis, the aim of this study is to compare the effects of two physical training protocols in a long-term rehabilitation program (6 months) in patients with COPD: a high-intensity protocol (based on endurance and resistive training) and a low-intensity protocol (based on callisthenic and breathing exercises training). It is expected that the results of this study contribute to the scientific literature by demonstrating whether low- and high-intensity training contribute equally to change the sedentary lifestyle of patients after a long-term exercise program.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of Capnography (Continuous recording of the carbon dioxide content of expired air)as an alternative test to measure PC02 levels in patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD,interstitial lung disease(ILD)or coronary disease who are at risk of intubation.

The purpose of this study is to determined effects of BreatheMAX on secretion clearance.

Over time, patients with fibrosing or interstitial lung disease (ILD) can develop high lung blood pressures (pulmonary hypertension), and this is associated with poorer prognosis and survival. It is thought that development of PH contributes to the deterioration and death of patients with ILD. Endothelin-1 (ET1) is a substance contributing to the development of both PH and ILD. Bosentan is a drug blocking the action of ET-1 by binding to its receptors. Bosentan clearly benefits patients with PH of unknown cause, or related to other diseases (such as heart conditions, or HIV) both alone and in combination with other treatments. In patients with fibrosing lung disease and PH, there have been no controlled treatment studies. Clearly it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of bosentan in these patients. This study aims to determine the ability of bosentan to reduce high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) in patients with scarring (fibrosing) lung disease. It is a placebo-controlled double blinded study for 16 weeks (and it is proposed to follow patients in a 16 week open-label phase with bosentan therapy).