The aim of the study is to use the antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects of lipoic acid to improve the quality of life of patients with asthma. The investigators will administrate 600 mg lipoic acid orally on a daily basis during two months concurrent with the patient anti-asthmatic therapy and evaluate the effects on resulting pulmonary function, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers and health-related quality of life previous to the initial of the treatment and at 60 days of the supplementary therapy.
Asthma is an inflammatory disease of high prevalence around the world. During development of asthma the presence of oxidative stress has been related to susceptibility and severity of the disease, thus making the use of antioxidant adjuvant therapy with lipoic acid (LA) an interesting treatment option. The objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of LA as an adjuvant treatment on functional, antioxidant, inflammatory, quality and control parameters of asthma in human subjects. The trial design is a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled parallel study. Adult patients (\>18 years) with history of mild intermittent to moderate asthma according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines were enrolled. It was required a positive skin prick test (\>3 mm) for at least two regional allergens. Patients were randomly assigned to receive lipoic acid or placebo for 60 days. Participants had an intermediate visit to the attending physician one month after initial of treatment to monitor adverse events and to undergo laboratory tests. 1. Introduction. Asthma is an inflammatory disease of high prevalence around the world. During development of asthma the presence of oxidative stress has been related to susceptibility and severity of the disease, thus making the use of antioxidant adjuvant therapy with lipoic acid (LA) an interesting treatment option. 2. Study design. A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled parallel study 3. Methods. Participants and interventions: 55 patients with mild to moderate asthma from Hospital Civil "Juan I. Menchaca" in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México were included and randomized in block of 10 to receive; LA (600 mg/day) or placebo for eight weeks from January to October of 2011. 4. Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of LA as an adjuvant treatment on functional, antioxidant, inflammatory, quality and control parameters of asthma in human subjects. Primary outcome: change on Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), secondary outcomes were levels of Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), protein carbonyls, differential count of sputum cells, interleukin-4 (IL-4) and scores of quality of life and control of asthma questionnaires.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
55
Lipoic acid 600 mg dose (two 300 mg capsules) once daily in the morning. All patients continued their asthma treatments given by their primary care physician also they were allowed to use rescue medication on demand consisting in inhaled salbutamol. During basal and 8 weeks visits spirometry with bronchodilator challenge, sputum induction and quality of life questionnaires and asthma control test were performed.
Placebo (two capsules filled with 300 mg vehicle) once daily in the morning during 60 days. All patients continued their asthma treatments given by their primary care physician also they were allowed to use rescue medication on demand consisting in inhaled salbutamol. During basal and 8 weeks visits spirometry with bronchodilator challenge, sputum induction and quality of life questionnaires and asthma control test were performed
Hospital Civil de Guadalajara "Juan I. Menchaca"
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Departamento de Fisiología, CUCS, UdeG
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Spirometric FVC Values at Baseline
Measurement of spirometric predicted parameters at baseline. Forced vital capacity (FVC) is the volume of air that can forcibly be blown out after full inspiration, measured in liters.
Time frame: Baseline
Spirometric FVC Values at Endpoint
Measurement of spirometric predicted parameters at the baseline and after 60 days of treatment: Forced vital capacity (FVC) is the volume of air that can forcibly be blown out after full inspiration, measured in liters.
Time frame: 60 days
Spirometric FEV1 Values at Baseline
Measurement of spirometric predicted parameters at baseline: Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), volume that has been exhaled at the end of the first second of forced expiration.
Time frame: Baseline
Spirometric FEV1 Values at Endpoint
Measurement of spirometric predicted parameters after 60 days of treatment. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), volume that has been exhaled at the end of the first second of forced expiration.
Time frame: 60 days
Spirometric FEF Values at Baseline
Measurement of spirometric parameters at baseline: Forced expiratory flow (FEF) is the flow (or speed) of air coming out of the lung during the middle portion of a forced expiration.
Time frame: Baseline
Spirometric FEF Values at Endpoint
Measurement of spirometric FEF after 60 days of treatment: Forced expiratory flow (FEF) is the flow (or speed) of air coming out of the lung during the middle portion of a forced expiration.
Time frame: 60 days
Induced Sputum of Glutathione (GSH)/Glutathione Disulfide (GSSG) Ratio at Baseline
Induced sputum of GSH and GSSG levels at baseline. The ratio GSH/GSSG is considered an index of antioxidant status and reductive -SH groups. GSH and GSSG were measured by a microplate fluorescent assay.
Time frame: Baseline
Induced Sputum of Glutathione (GSH)/Glutathione Disulfide (GSSG) Ratio at Endpoint
Change in the induced sputum of antioxidant parameters GSH and GSSG levels after 60 days of treatment. The ratio GSH/GSSG is considered an index of antioxidant status and reductive -SH groups. GSH and GSSG were measured by a microplate fluorescent assay.
Time frame: 60 days
Induced Sputum Carbonylated Proteins at Baseline
Proteins can become modified by a large number of reactions involving reactive oxygen species. Among these, carbonylation is an irreversible and unrepairable oxidative reaction. The main protein modifications originated from oxidative stress comprise direct oxidation of aminoacids with a thiol group, such as cysteine, oxidative glycation, and carbonylation. Oxidative protein carbonylation induce protein degradation in a nonspecific manner. Chemically, oxidative carbonylation preferentially occurs at proline, threonine, lysine, and arginine, presumably through a metal-catalyzed activation of hydrogen peroxide to a reactive intermediate. Carbonylation usually refers to a process that forms reactive ketones or aldehydes that can be reacted by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) to form hydrazones. Direct oxidation of side chains of lysine, arginine, proline, and threonine residues, among other aminoacids, produces DNPH detectable protein products
Time frame: Baseline
Induced Sputum Carbonylated Proteins at Endpoint
Proteins can become modified by a large number of reactions involving reactive oxygen species. Among these, carbonylation is an irreversible and unrepairable oxidative reaction. The main protein modifications originated from oxidative stress comprise direct oxidation of aminoacids with a thiol group, such as cysteine, oxidative glycation, and carbonylation. Oxidative protein carbonylation induce protein degradation in a nonspecific manner. Chemically, oxidative carbonylation preferentially occurs at proline, threonine, lysine, and arginine, presumably through a metal-catalyzed activation of hydrogen peroxide to a reactive intermediate. Carbonylation usually refers to a process that forms reactive ketones or aldehydes that can be reacted by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) to form hydrazones. Direct oxidation of side chains of lysine, arginine, proline, and threonine residues, among other aminoacids, produces DNPH detectable protein products.
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Time frame: 60 days
Induced Sputum Eosinophils at Baseline
Eosinophils, a prominent feature of asthma, are found in increased numbers in the circulation and sputum, usually in relation to the severity of asthma.
Time frame: Baseline
Induced Sputum Eosinophils at Endpoint
Eosinophils, a prominent feature of asthma, are found in increased numbers in the circulation and sputum, usually in relation to the severity of asthma.
Time frame: 60 days
Inflammatory Interleukin-4 (IL-4) Sputum Levels at Baseline
Inflammatory IL-4 sputum levels after 60 days of treatment. Sputum induction is a semi-invasive technique used to detect and monitor airway inflammation. IL-4 is a Th2 cytokine that promote airway inflammation in asthma. IL-4 drives the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in B cells. IL-4 was measured by ELISA.
Time frame: Baseline
Inflammatory IL-4 Sputum Levels at Endpoint
Inflammatory IL-4 sputum levels after 60 days of treatment. Sputum induction is a semi-invasive technique used to detect and monitor airway inflammation. IL-4 is a Th2 cytokine that promote airway inflammation in asthma. IL-4 drives the production of IgE in B cells. IL-4 was measured by ELISA.
Time frame: 60 days
Measurement of Quality of Life With the ACT (Asthma Control Test) at Baseline
Assessment of Quality of life scores with the ACT (Asthma Control Test). The ACT is a way to determine if the asthma symptoms are well controlled. The Asthma Control Test™ (ACT™) is a five question health survey used to measure asthma control in individuals 12 years of age and older. The survey measures the elements of asthma control as defined by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). ACT is an efficient, reliable, and valid method of measuring asthma control, with or without, lung functioning measures such as spirometry. Each item includes 5 response options corresponding to a 5-point Likert-type rating scale. In scoring the ACT survey, responses for each of the 5 items are summed to yield a score ranging from 5 (poor control of asthma) to 25 (complete control of asthma).
Time frame: Baseline
Measurement of Quality of Life With the ACT (Asthma Control Test) at Endpoint
Assessment of Quality of life scores with the ACT (Asthma Control Test). The ACT is a way to determine if the asthma symptoms are well controlled. The Asthma Control Test™ (ACT™) is a five question health survey used to measure asthma control in individuals 12 years of age and older. The survey measures the elements of asthma control as defined by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). ACT is an efficient, reliable, and valid method of measuring asthma control, with or without, lung functioning measures such as spirometry. Each item includes 5 response options corresponding to a 5-point Likert-type rating scale. In scoring the ACT survey, responses for each of the 5 items are summed to yield a score ranging from 5 (poor control of asthma) to 25 (complete control of asthma).
Time frame: 60 days
Measurement of Quality of Life With the AQLQ (Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire) at Baseline
The Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) was developed to measure the functional problems (physical, emotional, social and occupational) that are most troublesome to adults (17-70 years) with asthma. There are 32 questions in the AQLQ and they are in 4 domains (symptoms, activity limitation, emotional function and environmental stimuli). The activity domain contains 5 'patient-specific' questions. This allows patients to select 5 activities in which they are most limited and these activities will be assessed at each follow-up. Patients are asked to think about how they have been during the previous two weeks and to respond to each of the 32 questions on a 7-point scale (7 = not impaired at all - 1 = severely impaired). The overall AQLQ score is the mean of all 32 responses and the individual domain scores are the means of the items in those domains (http://www.qoltech.co.uk/aqlq.html).
Time frame: Baseline
Measurement of Quality of Life With the AQLQ (Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire) at Endpoint
The Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) was developed to measure the functional problems (physical, emotional, social and occupational) that are most troublesome to adults (17-70 years) with asthma. There are 32 questions in the AQLQ and they are in 4 domains (symptoms, activity limitation, emotional function and environmental stimuli). The activity domain contains 5 'patient-specific' questions. This allows patients to select 5 activities in which they are most limited and these activities will be assessed at each follow-up. Patients are asked to think about how they have been during the previous two weeks and to respond to each of the 32 questions on a 7-point scale (7 = not impaired at all - 1 = severely impaired). The overall AQLQ score is the mean of all 32 responses and the individual domain scores are the means of the items in those domains (http://www.qoltech.co.uk/aqlq.html).
Time frame: 60 days