Asthma Clinical Trials

This is a mechanistic, controlled, open-label, single-site study to evaluate the effects of RG-RV16 inoculation on airway mucosal gene expression and airway remodeling in 25 healthy controls (HC), in 25 allergic rhinitis subjects (AR) with cat dander allergy, and in 25 allergic asthmatic subjects (AA) with cat dander allergy. Three groups (HC, AR, and AA) will undergo screening to establish clinical history, will undergo pulmonary function testing (spirometry), and will have blood drawn for clinical characterization (IgE, , ImmunoCAP, CBC and differential), and for assessing the presence of existing neutralizing antibody against RV16. Only those who meet criteria will be permitted to continue into the interventional and run-out phases of the study. Read Less

Service men and women returning from deployment are significantly more likely to develop asthma and severe respiratory symptoms from airway obstruction. Why this happens is not well known, but exposure to diesel, burn pits, biomass smoke, and sandstorms are thought to play a role. Ultimately, patients with deployment related asthma develop a complex airway disease that does not respond well to standard asthma medications. Therefore, it is imperative that safe and affordable treatments that could improve quality of life and symptoms are studied. It has been previously shown that adult patients with poorly controlled asthma have an abnormal regulation of an amino acid called L-arginine and airway nitric oxide (FeNO), a gaseous molecule normally produced in the airways of healthy people. In healthy people, nitric oxide is present in amounts that help keep the airways open. However, in some patients with asthma, nitric oxide and L-arginine are often low. The investigators' preliminary data in obese asthmatics show that L-citrulline, which is an amino acid that can be metabolized into L-arginine, improved lung function and asthma control, while increasing the levels of FeNO. This is potentially shifting the paradigm in how investigators think of asthma management, as rising FeNO is often thought of being a bad sign. Based on this, the study investigators hypothesize that an L-citrulline-based drug strategy will normalize nitric oxide metabolism, suppress oxidative inflammatory responses and improve airway function in obese patients with asthma. The study proposal presents a clinical trial approach to treat deployment related asthma patients using L-citrulline as an add-on therapy to improve asthma control. If this confirms the investigators' previous study results, the investigators will be in route for developing the only precision-based therapy available to treat this asthma phenotype. These study results will potentially show that L-citrulline is a safe, tolerable medication that can make a significant impact on the respiratory health of a large segment of our active and veteran population at a reasonable cost. Read Less

Inhaler nonadherence is a common problem that has been estimated to account for approximately 60% of all asthma-related hospitalizations. Unfortunately, prior interventions to improve inhaler nonadherence have shown a lack of long-term success. This study proposes to assess the problem of non-adherence using a D&I research lens while testing a new inhaler approach to potentially ameliorate the detrimental consequences of maintenance inhaler nonadherence. Read Less

This is an early phase clinical trial to test the efficacy of elevating lung volume with positive expiratory pressure (CPAP) as a controller therapy for asthma in patients with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. There will be two phases to this trial. Phase I: In the first phase we will determine the optimal duration of CPAP that is effective as a controller therapy in asthma. Up to 9 participants will complete this this phase. Phase II: The 2nd phase will be a randomized double-blinded controlled trial of Sham CPAP versus CPAP 10 (using the duration of CPAP determined in phase I) as a controller therapy for asthma, and also to determine the effect o airway reactivity in healthy people with a BMI 30 kg/m2 and above. Twenty people with asthma and twenty controls will complete this phase. Read Less

Patients with obese late onset (after childhood) asthma can have lower FeNO levels, yet be highly symptomatic and poorly responsive to inhaled steroids. This is a common asthma phenotype, particularly among females. This reduction of NO occurs through increased arginase activity and uncoupling of NO synthase (NOS), by accumulation of asymmetric di-methyl arginine (ADMA), which further lowers the L-arginine/ADMA ratio, preferentially promoting reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and inflammation at the expense of NO. Indeed, in patients with obese late onset asthma, lower L-arginine/ADMA plasma ratios are associated with reduced FeNO, increased bronchial hyperreactivity, and greater asthma morbidity. In our pilot studies, the administration of L-citrulline, as an L-arginine donor, to patients with obese late onset asthma increased the L-arginine/ADMA ratio, FeNO levels, and improved asthma control and lung function. Therefore, the objectives of the protocol are to: a) determine the efficacy of L-citrulline, as an add-on treatment to improve the asthma control and lung function in obese late onset asthmatics; b) leverage the use of asthmatic and control cells to further understand obesity-related changes in epithelial airway NO metabolism, and how these changes relate to bronchoconstriction and lung function, c) determine airway epithelial changes in mitochondrial function and bioenergetics in obese late onset asthmatics and how these are modified by L-citrulline. To do this, 54 obese late onset asthmatics with suboptimal control will be blindly randomized, in a cross over study, comparing 15g/day of L-citrulline vs. placebo, in two 8-week treatment periods with a 6-week washout in between. The co-primary study outcomes are asthma control (ACQ, ACT) and FeNO, and secondary endpoints plasma L-arginine/ADMA, FEV1 and PC20 methacholine. Parallel to this study, a small study of 10 healthy obese controls will receive open label L-citrulline for 7 weeks to establish comparative reference values for the study aims. During the initial treatment phase, 50% of study participants will be randomly allocated to undergo pre and post L-citrulline treatment bronchoscopy to obtain BAL and airway epithelial cells. The research group proposing this study is highly experience in asthma clinical trials, implementation of cross over design studies, and in the use of research bronchoscopies. Read Less

This is a single-center study that will evaluate the safety and tolerability of removal of mucus plugs by bronchoscopy in patients with asthma. This protocol will also plan for the analysis of the features of the mucus plugs removed. Read Less

This is an observational, clinic-based, single center study of 120 subjects. Participants will be comprised of patients seen in the outpatient faculty practice in ambulatory care at the UCSF Parnassus campus. Study investigators will enroll 20 healthy participants with no history of lung disease, 50 asthmatics who are newly prescribed therapeutic proteins for their asthma, and 50 asthmatics already being treated with therapeutic proteins for their asthma. Participants will be seen at 1 to 3 visits and provide blood samples at each visit. Read Less

This is a cross-sectional study of up to 100 subjects who are undergoing clinically indicated sinus procedures to treat chronic rhinosinusitis. Participants will be asked to donate leftover sino-nasal secretions, sino-nasal tissue and blood as well as undergo partial characterization. As optional extensions of the main study, participants may also undergo a biopsy of extra sino-nasal tissue for additional tissue analysis and/or a more detailed characterization visit performed in the UCSF Airway Center Research Center (ACRC). Read Less

This study evaluates 20% n-acetylcysteine (NAC) in the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma that is complicated by mucus in the airway, as determined by CT imaging. The study is a crossover design, which means that half the study participants will get 20% NAC in the first 14-day treatment period and placebo in the next 14-day treatment period; and the other half will get placebo in the first 14-day treatment period and 20% NAC in the next 14-day treatment period. Read Less

The objective of this pilot study is to determine whether obesity and metabolic syndrome are in fact synergistic in relation to airway nitric oxide (NO) biology. To do so, the investigators want to determine how obesity and the metabolic syndrome relate to metabolism in bronchial airway epithelial cells and the nasal epithelium. Read Less

A 14-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked clinical trial in 40 obese patients with poorly controlled asthma. The intervention is Mitoquinol (MitoQ) versus placebo. The primary aim of this pilot study is to determine if MitoQ improves airway reactivity in obese patients with asthma. Read Less

To collect, preserve, and/or distribute annotated biospecimens and associated medical data to institutionally approved, investigator-directed biomedical research to discover and develop new treatments, diagnostics, and preventative methods for specific and complex conditions. Read Less