Diesel Exhaust Induces Glucocorticoid Resistance

Summary

The investigators are studying the effects of exposure to diesel exhaust on lung inflammation in the presence and absence of an inhaled corticosteroid. Although data is mixed, studies show that asthmatics have increased lung inflammation and worse symptoms during periods of higher air pollution despite taking their anti-inflammatory corticosteroid medication. One possible reason is that air pollution exposure may decrease the ability of corticosteroids to combat inflammation.

To test this volunteers will inhale either a placebo or a corticosteroid, before sitting in an exposure booth for 2 hours breathing either filtered air or diluted diesel exhaust. Samples will be collected before and after exposure to analyze the effects of budesonide and diesel exhaust exposure.

Conditions

• Exposure to Pollution
• Glucocorticoid Resistance

Interventions

OTHER

Placebo

Inhalation of air through a Turbuhaler that contains no medication, as a control.

DRUG

Budesonide

1.6mg of budesonide from a Turbuhaler.

OTHER

Filtered Air

Exposure to HEPA filtered air, as a control.

OTHER

Diesel Exhaust

Diesel exhaust standardized to 300µg/m³ of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• AllerGen NCE Inc.

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• University of British Columbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Chris Carlsten, MD · University of British Columbia

• Christopher F Rider, PhD · University of British Columbia

• Robert Newton, PhD · University of Calgary

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Max Age

49 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-12-01

Primary Completion

2025-12-31

Completion

2025-12-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations