MICA II
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Microbiology & Immunology of the Chronically-inflamed Airway (MICA) II
IRAS ID
188192
Contact name
Tom Wilkinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospital Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are chronic inflammatory diseases of the lung, that whilst presenting differently have significant overlap in terms of a component of small airways diseases and being susceptible to microbial-induced exacerbations. The small airways are a major site of airflow obstruction in severe asthma and COPD. In part this is related to their size where pathological changes make them more susceptible to occlusion. Mechanisms such as smooth muscle hypertrophy, airway luminal occlusion with mucus, inflammatory infiltrates and airway wall thickening cause airway obstruction with loss of structural support of the airways enhancing collapsibility. Exacerbations are periods of worsening disease symptoms, which are often caused by viral and bacterial infections of the lung and current vaccines appear to have little efficacy in limiting these exacerbations. The loss of lung function caused by infectious exacerbations is irreversible and patients who frequently exacerbate experience more rapid disease progression. We hypothesise that small airways disease is a principle component in the susceptibility to disease exacerbations and that effective vaccination and good nutritional status will reduce this susceptibility. The overall aim of this project is to enhance our understanding of the role of small airways disease in asthma and COPD exacerbations.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0528
Date of REC Opinion
1 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion