Respiratory Clinical Trails

Investigators

Two iCAPTURE Principal Investigators are involved in clinical trials done in association with the UBC Respiratory Division at St. Paul’s Hospital. These investigators are literally bringing benchside research to the bedside of real people.

Dr. Del Dorscheid’s main area of interest in clinical trials is increased cell death (apoptosis) in asthma. His team recently completed a trial looking to see if steroid use in normal subjects increased airway wall cell death. He is now investigating the effects of a natural supplement called Conjugated Lineolic Acid (CLA) in asthmatic patients.

Dr. Tony Bai has a strong interest in both interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and in asthma. He is the principal investigator of a very interesting and exciting study in patients with IPF. These patients usually die within 3 years of diagnosis. Until now there have been no proven effective therapies for their treatment. Dr. Bai is leading a study team here at St. Paul’s that is part of an international, multi site clinical trial looking at the use of Interferon Gamma 1B to treat IPF. Dr. Bai is also setting up a new study to prove that a new method of diagnosis will be helping in diagnosing people with chronic cough.

Dr. Pearce Wilcox’s main area of expertise is in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) research. There are currently 4 clinical trials under his guidance, running through the Cystic Fibrosis clinic. Some CF patients are not able to digest their food properly and as a result do not get enough calcium into their bodies. The first of these trials looks at changes in bone density, with or without treatment, in a group of CF patients. CF patients also have very thick mucous which plugs up their lungs. Two of the projects Dr. Wilcox is involved with look at a new method for prescribing antibiotics when these groups get lung infection, and at a novel new treatment (developed here in Vancouver) to help thin mucous and prevent infection. The latest clinical trial is looking at the role of a new type of anti-inflammatory treatment within the CF group. Dr. Wilcox is also interested in new treatment options for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and is involved in the IPF studies with Dr. Bai.

Dr. Bob Levy is the Head of the UBC Division of Respiratory Medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital. He is a Prinicipal investigator collaborating with Drs Bai and Wilcox in several international, multi-centre trials in COPD and an even newer therapeutic option for IPF patients.