The Role of Substance P on Perception of Breathlessness During Resistive Load Breathing (SP-RLB)

May 24, 2013 updated by: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

The Role of Substance P on Perception of Breathlessness

Substance P is released from sensory nerves and transmits pain information into the central nervous system. As pain and dyspnea share many characteristics, including similar neurological pathways, it is possible that substance P may contribute to the sensation of dyspnea. The hypothesis of the study is that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will provide lower ratings of breathlessness during resistive load breathing with oral aprepitant, a medication that blocks the activity of substance P, compared with placebo.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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

  • United States
    • New Hampshire
      • Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States, 03756-0001
        • Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

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

50 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 50 years of age or older
  • diagnosis of COPD
  • former smoker > 10 pack-years
  • clinical diagnosis of chronic bronchitis
  • post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 30 - 80% predicted
  • FEV1/forced vital capacity ratio less than or equal to 70%

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current smoker
  • pregnant women
  • concomitant disease that might interfere with study procedures
  • peripheral vascular disease or cold hypersensitivity
  • drugs that might interfere with aprepitant

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: aprepitant
Drug: aprepitant
125 mg capsule
Placebo Comparator: inert powder
Drug: placebo
capsule identical to aprepitant

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intensity of Breathlessness
Time Frame: At 1 minute intervals during Resistive Load Breathing at Period 1 (Day 3 or 4) and Period 2 (Day 5, 6 or 7)

Time-weighted averages of intensity of breathlessness.

Subject rating of intensity of breathlessness was obtained at 1 minute intervals during RLB on a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale anchored at the bottom by "No Intensity" and at the top by "Greatest Intensity".
At 1 minute intervals during Resistive Load Breathing at Period 1 (Day 3 or 4) and Period 2 (Day 5, 6 or 7)
Unpleasantness of Breathlessness
Time Frame: At 1 minute intervals during Resistive Load Breathing at Period 1 (Day 3 or 4) and Period 2 (Day 5, 6 or 7)

Time-weighted averages of unpleasantness of breathlessness.

Subject rating of unpleasantness of breathlessness was obtained at 1 minute intervals during RLB on a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale anchored at the bottom by "No Unpleasantness" and at the top by "Greatest Unpleasantness".
At 1 minute intervals during Resistive Load Breathing at Period 1 (Day 3 or 4) and Period 2 (Day 5, 6 or 7)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intensity of Pain
Time Frame: Every 15 seconds during immersion of hand in cold water for up to 5 minutes at Period 1 (Day 3 or 4) and Period 2 (Day 5, 6 or 7)

Time-weighted averages for intensity of pain.

Subject rating of intensity of pain on a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale anchored at the bottom by "No Intensity" and at the top by "Greatest Intensity" was obtained during immersion of the subject's non-dominant hand in cold water.
Every 15 seconds during immersion of hand in cold water for up to 5 minutes at Period 1 (Day 3 or 4) and Period 2 (Day 5, 6 or 7)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Donald A Mahler, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

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, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 16, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 18, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

April 19, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 19, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 24, 2013

Last Verified

May 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CPHS23276

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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