ALPHA-COPD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Haemodynamic effects of apelin agonists and antagonists in man in patients with COPD with raised pulmonary artery pressures.
IRAS ID
152747
Contact name
Joseph Cheriyan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & University of Cambridge
Research summary
Apelins are substances which occur naturally in the body, and have an important role in heart disease. They have been shown to make blood vessels get wider (helping blood flow around the body better), and improve the way the heart works.
We have devised 2 sets of experiments to investigate how the apelins affect blood vessels.
In the first group of experiments, we will give 12 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with raised blood pressure in the lungs, up to 3 different apelin substances, and use special research techniques to see how they affect the way that blood vessels work in the forearm. Each volunteer will visit the clinic up to 3 times. This first group of experiments has 2 parts, the first will allow us compare the apelin substances with each other. In the second study, again with 12 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with raised blood pressure in the lungs, the apelins will be given along with another form of apelin, MM54, which blocks the effects of apelin in laboratory experiments. We want to see if it blocks the effects of apelin in humans.
The second set of studies will involve giving the apelins via a needle in the hand to 12 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with raised blood pressure in the lungs, and measuring the effect these have on heart rate, blood pressure and heart function.
This study will help us to understand more about how apelins work, and to suggest how they might be used to treat heart disease.REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/0181
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion