Macrophages in Smokers' Lung

May 27, 2015 updated by: Imperial College London

The Role of Macrophages in the Pathophysiology of Smokers' Lung

Cigarette smoking causes an increase in inflammation in the lungs. In about 20% of smokers this inflammation leads to damage in lungs including making holes in the lung tissue. This damage can not be repaired and these people find it very difficult to breathe. One of the problems with this disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD for short, is that by the time patients visit their doctor with symptoms, the damage has already been done. At the moment, there is no way to predict which smokers will go on to develop COPD. The aim of this research is to look at smokers who breathe normally and use an imaging technique called a CT scan, to look at their lungs in more detail. Some of these people will have spots on their scan which may be caused by inflammation. We want to look at the cells at these spots to see if they make more proteins and enzymes that cause lung damage when compared to people that do not have these spots. We would then be able to predict which smokers are likely to develop COPD and treat them early before they have damaged their lungs.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Withdrawn

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD for short, will be 3rd biggest killer in the world by 2020. The major cause of this disease is cigarette smoking, but only about 15-20% of smokers will develop COPD. In this disease, the lung becomes damaged and patients can not breathe properly. This damage can not be repaired therefore at the moment there are no good treatements for COPD. By the time a patient visits their doctor with symptoms the damage is already done. Therefore in this study we want to look at the lungs of smokers that feel well and can breathe normally. We believe that much of the damage to the lung in COPD is caused by inflammation. In particular, there are more inflammatory cells called macrophages in the lungs of these patients. These macrophages normally protect the lung when we inhale particles like dust and are also inportant to fight infections. In COPD, these macrophages are out of control and produce huge amounts of enzymes that break down lung tissue and more proteins that cause inflammation. We want to see if we can find these macrophages in the lungs of smokers before they get COPD. Recently, a 5 and a half year study showed that some smokers that can breathe normally have increased inflammation in their lungs. This can be seen using a scan called a CT scan. On the CT scan, these areas look like spots. When these smokers had another scan 5 and half years later, in some cases these spots had become holes in their lung. This is called emphysema and is one of the characteristics of COPD. We want to know whether the macrophages in these smokers cause this damage. If this is the case, we have two separate findings from this study. Firstly, we could look at macrophages and predict which smokers will develop COPD and secondly, try and develop new treatments to stop the macrophages from producing all proteins that cause inflammation.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
      • London, United Kingdom, SW3 6LY
        • Imperial College London

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

All healthy smoking volunteers in trials will meet the following criteria:

Age 21-70 years. Smoking history of at least 10 pack years. (1 pack year = 20 cigarettes per day for 1 year).

No history of respiratory or allergic disease. Normal baseline spirometry as predicted for age, sex and height. No history of upper respiratory tract infection in the preceding six weeks. Not taking regular medication -

Exclusion Criteria:

Subjects will not included in this study if they meet any of the following exclusion criteria:

Clinically significant findings in the medical history or on physical examination.

Pregnant women or mothers who are breastfeeding. Subjects who are unable to give informed consent -

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Imperial College London

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Athol Wells, MD, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2005

Study Completion

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 1, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 1, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 2, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 28, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 27, 2015

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 05/Q0404/87

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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