Birch Pollen Allergy, Healthy Control Subjects
Conditions
Keywords
birch pollen, allergy, breathing, pattern, exposure
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to find out how the provocation of the nose changes breathing style (specifically, frequency and tidal volume changes)
Detailed description
It is intended to clarify on both healthy and birch pollen allergic adults how the provocation of the nose with the birch pollen, dilutant and xylometazoline affect the breathing style (breathing pattern) and how these possible changes could be controlled in the measurement of the breathing with respiratory effort belts. In addition to this, our intention is to clarify the effect of the facial mask on the breathing. The allergic and control subjects undergo nasal provocation in 2 sessions. The first is done with birch pollen extract (should block the nose in allergic subjects) and the second with xylometazoline (should open the nose). The mask group undergo similar measurements without nasal exposures. The second objective of the study is to clarify if there are differences between the allergic and control subjects in the function of the autonomous nervous system during these provocations. This is done with the heart rate variability analysis method.
Interventions
BIOLOGICAL1. session birch pollen nasal exposure 2. session xylometazoline nasal exposure
Aquagen SQ 10 000 SQ/ml nasal exposure Xylometazoline 1 mg/ml nasal exposure
Sponsors
Oulu University Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Birch pollen allergic subjects must have clear nasal symptoms during the birch pollen season and birch specific IgE \>= 0.70 * Healthy subjects: birch specific IgE \< 0.35 * The subjects are not allowed to be under medication that affects the function of their nose during a specific time period before the measurement * They have to be free of any acute respiratory symptoms during the prior two weeks to the measurements * Before measurement, they are not allowed to have heavy meal or sport * They are not allowed to have caffeine or other stimulants for 12 hours or alcohol for 24 hours.
Exclusion criteria
* Heart diseases * Brain circulatory disorders * Surgical operations of nose * Chronic nasal symptoms * Pregnancy * Smoker
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| breathing style | continuously during 2 hours | frequence and volume of breathing measured with spirometry and respiratory effort belts |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| thorax - abdomen relation | continuously during 2 hours | relation of the movements of the thorax and abdomen as measured with the respiratory belts |
| activation of the autonomous nervous system | continuously during 2 hours | activity of the autonomous nervous system as measured with heart rate variability |
Countries
Finland
Contacts
Primary ContactTiina Seppänen, MSc
Backup ContactOlli-Pekka Alho, Professor
Outcome results
None listed