Specific Aim: To determine the effectiveness of Roflumilast in improving i) whole right lung and ii) peripheral right lung mucociliary clearance (MCC) in patients with COPD and chronic bronchitis. Hypothesis: Roflumilast increases mucociliary clearance in patients with chronic bronchitis. Study Design: This will be a double-blinded, cross-over randomized controlled trial with 1:1 randomization of 20 individuals with chronic bronchitis. Subjects will undergo baseline MCC then will be randomized to either roflumilast or placebo x 4 weeks, then there will be a 4 week wash-out phase and a second 4 week period of roflumilast/placebo depending on initial randomization. MCC will be conducted at baseline and at the end of each 4 week medication phase.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how well Roflumilast improves mucociliary clearance in people with chronic bronchitis. Several studies show that roflumilast may modulate (change) mucociliary function. This study is designed to determine if these favorable effects lead to improved mucociliary clearance (MCC) in people with chronic bronchitis, thereby, reducing the potential for acute infections and hospitalizations. Daliresp® (roflumilast) is a drug currently marketed (approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in humans) in the U.S. and is indicated (used) for treatment of people with severe COPD to treat the symptoms of cough and excess mucous linked to chronic bronchitis. Roflumilast is used to reduce the risk (chance) of COPD exacerbations (increase in symptoms such as cough, mucus secretions, and shortness of breath, that can be life threatening and reduces the ability to breathe) linked to chronic bronchitis (swelling of the airways in the lungs). Roflumilast is FDA approved to decrease the number of flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients with severe COPD with chronic bronchitis and a history of flare-ups. The exact way Roflumilast does this is not known. Although Roflumilast is an FDA approved drug, in this study the drug is not being used for its FDA-approved indication. If you agree to be in this study, you will receive no new COPD treatment other than the drugs provided for the study. You will also be given a tablet to take once a day, which will be placebo for at least part of the study. A placebo is a substance that looks like the study drug but that contains no active ingredients. The study is a double-blind study. Double-blind means that neither you nor the study doctor will know which study regimen (roflumilast or placebo) you are receiving throughout the study. However, this information can be made available if medically necessary and as determined by the participant's study. You will undergo baseline mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Measurements then will be randomized (by chance, like the flip of a coin) to receive either roflumilast or placebo for 4 weeks, then there will be a 4 week wash-out phase, and a second 4 week period of roflumilast/placebo depending on initial randomization. Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Measurements will be conducted at the beginning and at the end of each 4 week study regimen phase. You will be in the study for about 12 weeks and there will be up to 12 visits. At baseline, and prior to each MCC Procedure, you will have health assessments which may include Physical Examination, Health and Demographic Interview, Exhaled Carbon Monoxide (eCO) Testing, Spirometry (Breathing Test), Expectorated Sputum Collection, Pregnancy Testing and Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Measurements.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
12
500 mcg of Roflumilast which is a prescription medicine used in adults with severe COPD to decrease the number of flare-ups or the worsening of COPD symptoms
500 mcg of placebo is used
Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1A and Visit 2A
Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil. After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.
Time frame: Change from 0 to 30 minutes
Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1A and Visit 2A
Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil. After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.
Time frame: Change from 0 to 60 minutes
Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1A and Visit 2A
Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil. After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.
Time frame: Change from 0 to 90 minutes
Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1B and Visit 2B
Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil. After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.
Time frame: Change from 0 min to 24 hours
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