The purpose of the study is to find out how well a long-acting beta agonist like salmeterol works in people with different forms of the same gene. Our hypothesis is that asthmatics with the Arg/Arg genotype will have loss of bronchoprotection against exercise-induced asthma with regular salmeterol treatment, as compared to asthmatics with the Gly/Gly genotype.
In many patients with asthma, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction is a common and oftentimes limiting characteristic. Inhaled β2-adrenoreceptor agonists like albuterol are the most effective treatments available for the relief of acute asthma symptoms. However, there is evidence that regular use may lead to adverse effects in some patients. Previous studies have shown that polymorphisms of the β2-adrenergic receptor can influence airway responses to regular inhaled beta-agonist treatment. Pharmacogenetics is the study of how genetic differences influence the variability in patients' responses to therapy, both therapeutic and adverse. Genetic susceptibility and environmental factors both play major roles in the etiology of asthma. The strong familial clustering of asthma has lead to a surge of research into the genetic predisposition of asthma. The aim of the present study is to utilize a double-blinded prospective cohort study to investigate whether genotype-specific effects occur when assessing the duration of protection conferred against exercise-induced bronchoconstriction by regular salmeterol treatment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
30
salmeterol 50 micrograms twice daily for 2 weeks
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Comparison of the Maximum Percent Fall in FEV1 After Exercise Challenge at the End of the 2-week Treatment Period Between Arg/Arg and Gly/Gly Patients
Time frame: 2 weeks after exercise challenge
Comparison of the Maximum Percent Fall in FEV1 From Pre-salmeterol Baseline to the End of the 2-week Treatment Period Between Arg/Arg and Gly/Gly Patients
Time frame: 2 weeks from pre-salmeterol baseline
Comparison of the Maximum Percent Fall in FEV1 After 1st Dose of Salmeterol to the End of the 2-week Treatment Period Between Arg/Arg and Gly/Gly Subjects
Time frame: 2 weeks after 1st dose of Salmeterol
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