Biodiesel Exhaust, Acute Vascular and Endothelial Responses (BEAVER)

November 30, 2011 updated by: Jeremy Langrish, University of Edinburgh

Inhalation of Dilute Biodiesel Exhaust: Acute Vascular and Endothelial Responses

Exposure to particulate air pollution has been shown to increase cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, and in previous controlled exposure studies has been shown to have acute cardiovascular and respiratory effects. The last decade has seen an unprecedented drive towards finding a bioeconomical and renewable source of fuel in order to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Although both biodiesel and bioethanol have emerged as contenders for future fuels, biodiesel remains as the strongest contender within European markets. In 2007 researchers at the EPA released a commentary, which concluded that the assumed correlation between the chemical composition of biodiesel exhaust and a reduction in health effects was only hypothetical. They suggested that there was a clear need for the study of health effects in humans regarding biofuel exhaust. In this project the investigators aim to investigate the cardiovascular, respiratory and inflammatory responses to biofuel exhaust exposure in healthy volunteers.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

16

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

      • Umeå, Sweden, 901 85
        • Umeå University Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 20 healthy, non-smoking subjects, age 20-55 year old, both genders.

All subjects undergo a general health examination and are required to have:

Normal clinical examination Normal EKG Normal routine blood tests Normal lung function

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Diabetes Mellitus
  • Asthma and/or allergy
  • Respiratory infection within 3 weeks of the study
  • Antioxidant- and/or vitamin supplementation within 2 weeks prior to, as well as during the course of the study. (incl vitamin C, Acetylcysteine)
  • Female subjects will take a urinary pregnancy test before each exposure and will be excluded if this is positive.

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

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Diesel exhaust exposure
1 hour exposure to dilute diesel exhaust (approximate PM10 concentration 300 mcg/m3) during intermittent exercise
Forearm venous occlusion plethysmography to measure forearm blood flow during unilateral intrabrachial infusion of endothelium-dependent (bradykinin [100, 300 & 1000 pmol/min]; acetylcholine [5, 10 & 20 µg/min]) and -independent [sodium nitroprusside [2, 4 & 8 µg/min]; verapamil [10, 30 & 100 µg/min]) vasodilators. Each drug to be infused for 6 mins at each dose in increasing concentrations. 0.9% sodium chloride will be infused for 20 min between each individual drug to allow washout.
Experimental: Biodiesel exhaust exposure
1 hour exposure to dilute biodiesel exhaust (approximate PM10 concentration 300 mcg/m3) during intermittent exercise
Forearm venous occlusion plethysmography to measure forearm blood flow during unilateral intrabrachial infusion of endothelium-dependent (bradykinin [100, 300 & 1000 pmol/min]; acetylcholine [5, 10 & 20 µg/min]) and -independent [sodium nitroprusside [2, 4 & 8 µg/min]; verapamil [10, 30 & 100 µg/min]) vasodilators. Each drug to be infused for 6 mins at each dose in increasing concentrations. 0.9% sodium chloride will be infused for 20 min between each individual drug to allow washout.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Vascular vasomotor and fibrinolytic function
Time Frame: 4-6 hours after exposure
Forearm venous occlusion plethysmography to measure forearm blood flow during unilateral intrabrachial infusion of endothelial-dependent (bradykinin and acetylcholine) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside and verapamil) vasodilators. Fibrinolytic function assessed by blood sampling after infusion of bradykinin for tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.
4-6 hours after exposure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Respiratory function tests
Time Frame: 6 hours after exposure
Basic spirometry will be performed at baseline and 6 hours after each exposure
6 hours after exposure
Inflammatory markers
Time Frame: Baseline and up to 24 hours after exposure
Blood samples will be taken and stored as plasma and serum for measurement of inflammatory mediators
Baseline and up to 24 hours after exposure
Central arterial stiffness
Time Frame: Baseline and post exposure
Central arterial stiffness (PWV and PWA) will be measured at baseline and immediately after the exposure
Baseline and post exposure

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jenny A Bosson Damewood, MD PhD, Umea University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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

April 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 15, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 18, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

April 19, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 1, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 30, 2011

Last Verified

November 1, 2011

More Information

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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