Role of Endorphins in Perception of Dyspnea With Resistive Loading in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2010-10-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Endorphins are released in response to breathing difficulty and can modify the perception of
breathlessness. In this randomized placebo-controlled trial, resistive breathing loads are
used to provoke breathlessness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The
hypothesis of the study is that intravenous (IV) administration of naloxone, a medication
which blocks endorphin activity, will increase the perception of breathlessness experienced
by patients while breathing through a resistance device, compared with IV administration of
normal saline.