Airway Microbiome in Asthma: Relationships to Asthma Phenotype and Inhaled Corticosteroid Treatment
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
There are new, very sensitive methods for detecting bacteria. These methods show that
hundreds of millions of microbes (organisms that can only be seen with microscopes),
especially bacteria, live in healthy people. The collection of different microbes found in a
site is called a "microbiome." The investigators know that microbiomes of the skin, sinuses,
mouth, gastro-intestinal tract, etc. differ from each other. The make-up of the microbiome -
which bacteria are found in a site - may be necessary for good health. For example, the
microbiome of the mouth is different in people with inflammation of the gums (periodontitis),
and the microbiome of the bowel is different in people with inflammation of the intestinal
tract (inflammatory bowel disease).
The purpose of this research study is to find out if the microbiome in the lungs is different
in healthy people without asthma compared to people with asthma. This study will also find
out if the microbiome of the lungs changes when people with asthma take a daily "controller"
medication called an inhaled corticosteroid.