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: 0
• Participant gender: All

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.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
• Treatments: Endorphins; Naloxone

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female patient 50 years of age or older;

• A diagnosis of COPD defined by American Thoracic Society-European Respiratory Society criteria

• Current or former smoker with a smoking history of greater than or equal to 10 pack-years;

• A post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) greater than or equal to 30% predicted and less than or equal to 80% predicted; AND

• A post-bronchodilator FEV1/forced vital capacity ratio less than 70%; and clinically stable COPD.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any patient who has a concomitant disease that might interfere with study procedures or evaluation;

• Inability to perform resistive breathing maneuvers; OR

• Any current use of a narcotic medication.