Characterization of Adult Subjects for Asthmatic Research Studies



Status:Recruiting
Conditions:Asthma
Therapuetic Areas:Pulmonary / Respiratory Diseases
Healthy:No
Age Range:18 - Any
Updated:3/10/2019
Start Date:May 2010
End Date:July 2020
Contact:Ariana Baum
Email:Ariana.Baum@ucsf.edu
Phone:415-514-1539

Use our guide to learn which trials are right for you!

This study is designed to characterize subjects in terms of the nature and severity of their
asthma and in terms of conditions that may alter the clinical expression of asthma. Some
features will be obtained in all subjects. These include a medical history and baseline lung
function tests. This characterization forms the basis for our database that facilitates
research protocols.

The purpose of this study is to generate a cohort of well-characterized asthmatic subjects as
a resource for recruitment of asthmatic subjects and healthy controls in clinical studies and
clinical trials in the UCSF Airway Clinical Research Center. The UCSF Airway Clinical
Research Center (ACRC) conducts multiple clinical research studies in asthma funded by the
NIH, foundations, and industry. We have a broad range of research interests, but we have
specific interests in mechanism-oriented clinical studies and specific expertise in
biospecimen collection, biobanking, and biospecimen analysis. Our model is to have multiple
studies recruiting simultaneously, and this means that we need well-organized recruitment and
database systems.

Additionally, we aim to characterize asthmatic subjects in multiple domains, including
disease severity, airway inflammation subtypes, and mucus subtypes. Asthma is a heterogeneous
disease in its clinical presentation and in its underlying cellular and molecular phenotypes.
To explore cellular and molecular phenotypes of asthma, we will analyze induced sputum for
cell types and gene expression, with a focus on Th2 inflammation pathways and innate and
adaptive immune cells that drive Th2 inflammation. Detailed cellular analysis of sputum is
possible but requires that multiple sputum samples be collected for processing in multiple
different ways, including by cytocentrifugation, FACS analysis, and by formalin fixation and
paraffin embedding of sputum cell pellets. We are also studying mucus phenotypes of asthma
using methods of rheology, which needs to be done on fresh sputum.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Age 18 years and older

Exclusion Criteria:

- History of lung disease other than asthma

- An upper respiratory tract infection or an exacerbation of their asthma within the
preceding 4-6 weeks.

- Persons who have smoked > 5 cigarettes per month and have a total pack-year smoking
history > 10 packs.
We found this trial at
1
site
San Francisco, California 94143
Principal Investigator: John V Fahy, MD
Phone: 415-514-1539
?
mi
from
San Francisco, CA
Click here to add this to my saved trials