Pilot Observational Study Utilising MRI to Study Mepolizumab in COPD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot Study of the Use of 129Xe and 1H MRI to measure the Modulation of Eosinophil-Related inflammation by mepolizumab In COPD (SUMMER)
IRAS ID
1003843
Contact name
Rod Lawson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Eudract number
2021-002901-84
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Research summary
COPD is the name for smoking related lung disease, which includes bronchitis and emphysema. Those who suffer from this disease get daily symptoms like cough, phlegm and breathlessness. Occasionally this worsens for various reasons, these flare ups are called exacerbations. During an exacerbation people often need treatment with steroids and antibiotics, and sometimes needing admission to hospital. People with lots of exacerbations are more likely to get other health problems, and their lungs get worse more rapidly. Some treatments exist to lessen the chances of an exacerbation, but they only reduce this by one third.
People with asthma also get exacerbations. There are a new range of treatments, including a drug called mepolizumab which is good at preventing exacerbations in asthmatics. Some with COPD have 'asthmatic' type inflammation. Research shows mepolizumab may reduce exacerbations of people with COPD and asthmatic inflammation but further research is needed to show us more clearly who is likely to benefit from the drug.
To gain this understanding we need to be able to measure inflammation within the body. We have developed a way to use an MRI scanner to do this using xenon gas to give us good pictures of the lungs. We can then measure how xenon flows within the air spaces of the lungs, and from there to the blood. This tells us a lot of detail about inflammation and damage in the lung.
We aim to find participants with COPD with 'asthmatic' type inflammation, and treat them for a year with mepolizumab. We will take scans before the treatment, after 12 weeks and after a year to see how the drug affects inflammation. We will also compare our measurements with the number of exacerbations people get, with measures of their quality of life, and with ordinary laboratory breathing tests. We are especially interested to know if the reduction in inflammation early on after 12 weeks is associated with fewer exacerbations and better quality of life over the year.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0009
Date of REC Opinion
22 Feb 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion