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355 active trials for Asthma

Children's Respiratory and Environmental Workgroup

The environment during the prenatal period and in early life is a major contributor to the risk of developing childhood asthma. Birth cohort studies from single research centers have identified several factors that affect the risk for developing childhood asthma, including being exposed in early life to allergens, pollutants, viruses and bacteria, and psychosocial stress. Despite such advances, further progress in understanding the root causes of asthma have been hampered by the small size of previous studies, which makes it difficult to: 1) identify asthma risk factors with certainty, 2) know how environmental factors across the United States (U.S.) affect asthma, and 3) whether there are critical ages when pregnant mothers, infants and young children are particularly susceptible to these influences. Furthermore, different research groups tend to use different methods to study asthma, making it difficult to either compare or pool findings. One other challenge is that there are several types (i.e. phenotypes, endotypes) of childhood asthma, but these are poorly understood. To help overcome these challenges, investigators leading 12 asthma birth cohorts across the U.S. have established the Children's Respiratory Research Workgroup (CREW) consortium. CREW proposes to identify specific types of childhood asthma, develop an understanding of what early life environmental influences cause these different types of asthma and when, and identify targets for future efforts aimed at preventing childhood asthma.

Start: December 2017
AdditioN of Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) Of Budesonide/Formoterol Via Elpenhaler® Device in Greek Patients With asThma acc?rding to Standard Clinical Practice.

The budesonide / formoterol combination can be used both as a maintenance treatment and as a maintenance and relief therapy (MART) where in the latter there is also anti-inflammatory action in contrast to the use of SABA. This anti-inflammatory and soothing effect has been recognized by the Global Initiatives for Asthma (GINA) guidelines and is recommended as a palliative treatment for all types of asthma severity versus Short Acting Beta Agonists (SABA). Test results have shown that the invoked budesonide / formoterol combination therapy had a similar (not lower) effect on the annual exacerbation rate, with lower exposure to ICS compared to regular maintenance therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), although budesonide / formoterol therapy appeared to was inferior to ongoing asthma control. Another study showed no inferiority of the stable budesonide / formoterol combination compared to maintenance ICS plus the required SABA dosing regimen in reducing the annual severe exacerbation rate in patients with mild asthma. Patients receiving budesonide / formoterol as adjunctive therapy or as maintenance therapy experienced a reduced incidence of exacerbations including asthma-related SAEs, compared with patients receiving long acting beta agonists (LABAs) or SABAs as sedatives, ICS or ICS / LA terbutaline or salbutamol. Studies have shown that patients spent more days without palliative care, indicating a significant reduction in reliance on palliative care while improving both disease control and daily functioning and well-being. Asthma symptoms and nocturnal awakening were significantly reduced, and FEV1 levels before and after treatment showed significant improvement in lung function and quality of life as shown by the AQLQ-S questionnaire score. In addition, ICS / LABA therapy as a palliative or maintenance treatment appears to be well tolerated and reduces the risk of severe exacerbations following exposure to high doses of SABA which may mask the worsening of inflammation. The meta-analysis of Rogliani et. al. showed that low dose (LD) to medium dose (MD) ICS / LABA MART was as effective as HD ICS / LABA and SABA as needed treatments in reducing the risk of severe asthma exacerbations and that MART was generally more effective than low dose LD ICS / LABA + as needed LABA or SABA, or ICS / LABA as needed or ICS + as needed SABA treatments. The efficacy of ICS / LABA as needed treatment in the risk of severe exacerbation was significantly higher than ICS + as needed SABA treatment but not ICS / LABA + as needed SABA in patients with mild to severe asthma. LD to MD MART and HD ICS / LABA + as needed SABA were equally effective (P> 0.05) in improving PEF, and more effective (P <0.05) than LD ICS / LABA + as needed SABA or LABA, ICS / LABA as needed, ICS + SABA as needed, and SABA as needed. Administration of ICS / LABA as purely invasive use significantly improved (P <0.05) PEF compared to ICS + SABA as needed, LD ICS / LABA + SABA as needed, and SABA as needed treatments. MART improved lung function and disease control compared to other invasive therapies in patients with moderate asthma. In contrast, in patients with moderate to severe asthma, LD to MD MART was partially more effective than other invasive therapies in improving lung function and controlling asthma. No differences were found in the safety profile which was measured as the risk of occurrence of YOU. The combination of budesonide / formoterol as maintenance therapy and as-needed palliative care could improve overall asthma control without the need for additional palliative care.

Start: May 2021
Telemedicine Enhanced Asthma Management Through the Emergency Department

In the US, children from minority ethnic and racial backgrounds suffer disproportionately from asthma and account for substantially more emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations than non-minority children. While NHLBI guidelines recommend daily preventive medications for all children with persistent asthma to prevent morbidity as well as ED visits and hospitalizations, many children who should receive preventive medications are not receiving them. This is in part because children presenting to the ED for an acute asthma exacerbation rarely receive preventive asthma care, due to the ED's focus on acute, episodic care. The NHLBI guidelines recommend that children follow-up with a primary care provider (PCP) within 1-4 weeks of the ED visit. The post-ED follow-up visit is an opportunity for the PCP to prescribe effective preventive asthma medications, step-up medication for children who demonstrate poor control, promote adherence, and provide education on asthma self-management and trigger control. However, rates for follow-up after an asthma-related ED visit are extremely low, and preventive care is delivered inconsistently even when children are seen in follow-up. In the investigators' prior work they have found that a provider prompting intervention can enhance the delivery of guideline-based preventive asthma treatments at the time of a primary care office visit and ultimately reduce morbidity. They have also found that telemedicine can link children with persistent asthma to a provider for optimal chronic illness management. The goal of this project is to use a novel telemedicine-based program to facilitate primary care follow-up and promote the delivery of guideline-based preventive care for high-risk children presenting to the ED for an asthma exacerbation. The investigators will utilize a 2-group randomized trial to test the TEAM-ED intervention. The intervention includes: 1) a telemedicine assessment at the child's school within one week of discharge from the ED and completed by a PCP, 2) 'point-of-care' prompting to promote the provision of guideline-based preventive care during the telemedicine visit, and 3) two additional telemedicine-assisted follow-up assessments to assure optimal response to treatment and tailor the care regimen as needed. The investigators will assess the effectiveness of the program in reducing respiratory morbidity and improving preventive asthma care, with follow-up assessments at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Start: August 2016
GSNOR Phenotyping/GSNO Challenge in Severe Asthma

Asthma is caused by or worsened by different things in different people. It is because of these differences that not all people with asthma respond the same to all treatments and medicines. If the investigators can better identify the changes in the airways or breathing pipes in patients with asthma, the investigators may be able to help patients make better choices about the medicines or treatments that are most likely to work best for each patient. This research study is about one specific factor that is known to affect asthma in some patients. It involves an increase in the activity of an enzyme that is in people's airways. An enzyme is something that helps a chemical reaction to occur. The enzyme the investigators are studying in this research study is called GSNOR (S-nitrosoglutathione reductase) , and when the activity of this enzyme is increased, the result is that there is less GSNO (S-nitrosoglutathione) . GSNO is a chemical that protects people's airways. The initials stand for S-nitrosoglutathione, (pronounced s-nahy-troh-soh-gloo-tuh-thahy-ohn), and it is naturally produced by the body. It has an important role in regulating respiratory function (breathing) and preventing inflammation (swelling) in the respiratory tract (throat, airways, and lungs). The amount of GSNO found in the body is controlled by the enzyme GSNOR (S-nitrosoglutathione reductase). GSNOR breaks down GSNO. Too much GSNOR leads to low levels of GSNO, and that can cause inflammation (swelling) and loss of airway function in some asthma patients. The only way to measure GSNOR levels currently is with a bronchoscopy procedure where a scope is inserted into the patient's airways, often under sedation. This research study is being done to test the accuracy of another type of test that can be done in the doctor's office, rather than in a procedure area. This non-invasive diagnostic test, called a GSNO Challenge test, may be able to identify which asthma patients have increased activity of the airway enzyme GSNOR. The investigators are also studying the phenotypes (observable traits) in asthma patients with increased levels of GSNOR. If this research study is successful, in the future (after this research study is done). The investigators may be able to offer a cost-effective and non-invasive way to identify patients who have higher GSNOR activity levels and offer personalized treatments. The GSNO Challenge test includes giving an investigational drug to breathe in (inhale). The investigational drug is GSNO. "Investigational" means the drug is not approved by any regulatory agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is still being tested for safety and effectiveness. The research is registered with the FDA, but again the GSNO treatment in this study (administered during the GSNO challenge testing) is not an approved treatment or diagnostic test for asthma.

Start: April 2019
Assessing the Expression and the Activity of Rac1 Protein in the Airway Smooth Muscle of Asthmatic Patient

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease affecting 6 to 7% of the French adult population and responsible of 1000 deaths in France every year. Many anti-inflammatory treatments are available but few had been developed to target hyperresponsiveness.Investigators and searchers of the Institut du thorax have recently demonstrated the main involvement of Rac1 monomeric G protein in the contraction of airway smooth muscle cells. They show that Rac1 is expressed in the airway smooth muscle cells in mice and its activity is increased in the bronchi of asthma induced mice sensitized to House-Dust Mite. They further demonstrate that Rac1 inhibition in mice by nebulisation reduces airway hyperresponsiveness and pulmonary inflammation. Investigators and searchers of the Institut du thorax would like to seek whether targeting Rac1 would be interesting in asthmatic patients. Primary objective of this study is to determine if Rac1 expression and activity in airway smooth muscle cells are increased in asthmatic patients compare to controlled samples (deceased donor samples). Secondary objective is to determine whether there is a correlation between Rac1 activity and asthma severity. If Rac1 activity in airway smooth muscles is indeed increased in asthmatic patients depending on asthma severity, Rac1 could be a potential target to treat airway hyperresponsiveness.

Start: March 2019