Novel vascular manifestations of COPD, part 3

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Novel vascular manifestations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, part 3: a prospective clinical and imaging study to evaluate the effect of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on cerebral small vessel disease and microvasculature.

• IRAS ID

  200795

• Contact name

  Emma H Baker

• Contact email

  ebaker@sgul.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  St George's, University of London

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Aim.
  The aim of the research is to investigate the association between exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and damage to small blood vessels in the body.

  Background.
  COPD is a lung condition caused by inflammation of the airways and damage to the air sacs, which makes breathing harder and increases production of phlegm. The most common cause is cigarette smoking. People with COPD can have flare-ups of symptoms, known as exacerbations. COPD does not just affect the lungs, but also affects other parts of the body including the brain, causing memory problems and strokes. Research suggests that small blood vessels, that supply blood and oxygen deep into the brain, are more prone to damage in COPD. However, it is not clear why. We think that increased inflammation in the body may be responsible. We also know that during exacerbations levels of inflammation increase. We want to see if there is a link between exacerbations and inflammation with changes to small blood vessels and subsequent damage to the brain.

  Design and methods.
  This is an observational study. People with COPD who are well for the previous 6 weeks and don’t have other long-term conditions that might affect study results will be invited to take part. Participants will be asked to undergo tests including: blood and urine sampling; breathing tests (spirometry); photographs of blood vessels in the skin surface (capillaroscopy); measurement of large blood vessel stiffness (pulse wave velocity); photographs of the back of the eye (retinal vascular imaging); and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain. These will be performed when people are well at the beginning of the study, then 1 year later. Additionally we will repeat the tests if participants experience an exacerbation to help find out how exacerbations affect the small blood vessels and organs.

• REC name

  London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/LO/0547

• Date of REC Opinion

  21 Apr 2016

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion