The microbial pathology of severe asthma

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Heterogeneity of Asthma: a pilot study to investigate its microbiome and how it relates to asthma severity

• IRAS ID

  163724

• Contact name

  Becky Ward

• Contact email

  becky.ward@imperial.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Imperial College London

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Asthma is a common chronic disorder characterised by symptoms of breathlessness and wheeze. About 10% of these patients have severe asthma and their symptoms are not controlled despite high doses of medications. There is an urgent need to find more effective treatments for these patients.
  The mechanisms that underlie asthma are much better understood but we don't know whether the mechanisms are the same in severe asthma. Unlike in normal asthma the inflammation in severe asthma is resistant to the anti-inflammatory effects of medications like steroids. In addition, the airways of patients with severe asthma often remain constantly obstructed. Complex abnormalities of the immune system may lead to the development of severe asthma. In asthma, the microbes found in the lungs are different from those seen in people who do not suffer from asthma, and this is even further different in severe asthma. We plan to study patients with asthma of different severity from mild to severe and study the bacteria in the lungs by taking biopsies and brushings from the airway. These will be tested for the presence of bacteria by measuring the bacterial genetic component. At the same time, we will measure the genes present in these tissues. We will relate the presence of abnormal bacteria to the genes that are being regulated in the patients with asthma. We will also find out whether treatment of these patients with corticosteroids, a treatment used frequently in these patients, increase the chance of infection in the lungs that may cause deterioration of the asthma. At the same time, we will observe the effect of cigarette smoking on the microbiome of the lungs.

• REC name

  London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/2063

• Date of REC Opinion

  29 Jan 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion