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Respiratory and
cardiovascular effects of diesel exhaust in COPD.
The project will generate new
knowledge, vital for understanding respiratory and cardiovascular effects
by diesel exhaust in subjects with copd (chronic obstructive; pulmonary disease) and healthy, elderly citizens, thereby providing valuable
information for future policy making.
The overall
objective is to characterize the respiratory and cardiovascular effects of
diesel exhaust in elderly and individuals with copd, groups which have
been suggested to be sensitive to air pollution effects. It is
hypothesised that diesel exhaust would induce a worsening of the pre-existing
inflammation in the airways of individuals with capd, which may lead to an
exacerbation of the disease. It is also postulated that this could be
accompanied by changes in heart rate variability and also changes in blood
coagulation, as compared with a group of age matched healthy individuals.
The specific
scientific objectives are to study diesel exhaust effects in copd and
elderly healthy subjects, in terms of 11 pulmonary function changes, 21 cardiovascular effects, 31
inflammatory respiratory and systemic effects,
41 differences and similarities in responses between subjects with copd
and age matched elderly healthy control subjects and 51 Determine
mechanistic pathways whereby elderly susceptible individuals experience
adverse health effects identified in epidemiological studies. This group
uses a well-established and characterized diesel engine exhaust exposure
chamber, in use for over a decade, together with state of the art
techniques well in use in our lab. This includes induced sputum and
measurements of free radical activity, oxidative stress, proinflammatory
and apoptosis markers in airways and blood, together with coagulation
factors, long term ECG and lung function tests. The study design includes
15 copd and 15 elderly subjects being exposed to DE 100 ug/m3
PM10 and
filtered air in a randomised sequence and monitored up to 48 hours after
exposures. The results of the project will be documented and disseminated
at National, European and International levels in terms of conferences,
workshops and publications, PhD thesis, University activities and
communications with relevant authorities.
| Participants: |
|
| Thomas
Sandstöm |
Dept of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University |
| Anders
Blomberg |
Dept of Public Health and
Clinical Medicine, Umeå University |
| Ragnberth Helleday, MD,
PhD |
Dept of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University |
| Håkan Törnqvist, MD |
Dept of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University |
| Maj-Cari Ledin |
Dept of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University |
| Bertil Rudell, PhD |
Dept of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University |
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Progress
report 2003 |
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