Patient studies
By Dipali Pathak
Emphysema drug trial seeks Houston participants
Baylor College of Medicine is one of 13 sites in the United States where a study on a new medicine for emphysema patients is being conducted. The clinical trial will test the safety and effectiveness of an investigational compound called a selective retinoid receptor agonist, or RARgamma, to determine whether it will improve lung function in people with moderate to severe emphysema.
Study eligibility
Nicola Hanania, M.B.B.S., director of the Asthma Clinical Research Center and associate professor of medicine at BCM, is leading the BCM study.
To be eligible for the study, you must:
- Be age 45 or older
- Have been diagnosed with emphysema by a CT scan
- Have a history of smoking more than 10 packs per year
- Have not smoked for the past 12 months.
Emphysema is a disease that destroys the air sacs in the lungs, Hanania said. The study is designed to evaluate the effects of the investigational drug on certain receptors in the lung.
During the two-year study, participants will make about 15 visits to BCM for various tests, including lung function, blood and urine specimens, X-rays and CT scans. Some participants will take a pill form of RARgamma once a day. Other participants will take a placebo once a day; two out of three participants will receive the study drug. In addition, all participants will receive drug therapy with short-acting bronchodilators as needed and other medications.
Call for details
Anyone interested in enrolling in the study can call toll-free1-888-4-TESRA-0 (1-888-483-7720).
The study, being conducted in 65 medical centers worldwide, is sponsored by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.
