Researchers conducted a clinical trial to better understand asthma in people who also have obesity. They used an advanced imaging technique called hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI, which creates detailed 3D pictures of the lungs, along with genetic analysis of individual cells. The goal was to study the mechanisms that might cause airway scarring and structural changes in this specific group of patients. The trial involved 49 people with both asthma and obesity, and researchers followed them for about 46 months. This was a Phase 2 trial, which means it was still in the middle stages of testing. The study design was focused on understanding the biology of the condition rather than testing a new treatment. The main reason to be careful is that the source material only describes the study's plan and methods. No actual results from this trial—like what the imaging or genetic tests showed—have been made public. We don't know if the techniques revealed new information or if there were any safety concerns with the procedures. Because no findings are reported, this research should be viewed as work in progress. It represents scientists trying to build better tools to study a complex health issue, but it doesn't yet offer any new insights for patients or doctors.
Photo by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / Unsplash
Researchers test advanced imaging to study asthma in people with obesity
Plain Language Summary
What this means for you:
This early study tested new research methods; no results about asthma in obesity are available yet. What this means for you:
This early study tested new research methods; no results about asthma in obesity are available yet. View Original Abstract ↓
Status: COMPLETED | Phase: PHASE2
Condition(s): Asthma, Obesity
Intervention(s): Hyperpolarized 129XeMRI (DRUG)
40% of all asthma patients in the US are obese. Obese asthmatics have more severe disease than lean asthmatics and do not respond as well to conventional anti-inflammatory therapies. This proposal will utilize 3D functional imaging with 129XeMRI and single cell RNA sequencing to study mechanisms driving regional airway remodeling and fibrosis in obese asthma subjects and in preclinical models of obese asthma.
Detailed: ABSTRACT
Obesity, a major comorbidity and a potential modulator of asthma, affects nearly 40% of asthmatics in the U.S., and increases its severity. Obese asthmatics do not respond as well to conventional anti-inflammatory therapies and new biologics targeting asthma are less effective in obese asthmatics compared to lean. Very little research has been conducted in obese animals or obese asthmatics, resulting in a major knowledge deficit.
A key feature of asthma is airway remodeling and fibrosis, broadly defined as a change in distribution, thickness, composition, mass or volume of structural components of the airway wall of patients relative to healthy patients. Airway remodeling is difficult to diagnose in obese patients as mechanical changes in chest wall compliance can contribute to
Primary Outcome(s): Percentage of Neutrophils in Peripheral Blood; Percentage of Eosinophils in Peripheral Blood
Enrollment: 49 (ACTUAL)
Lead Sponsor: Bastiaan Driehuys
Start: 2021-04-01 | Primary Completion: 2025-01-31
Results posted: 2026-03-23