Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment

描述(由申请人提供) 该中心的长期目标是研究暴露于环境污染物和过敏原与居住在巴尔的摩市中心的哮喘儿童的呼吸道炎症和呼吸道发病率之间的关系，并寻求通过减少暴露于这些制剂来降低哮喘发病率的新方法。为了实现这些目标，该中心包括基础研究项目和应用研究项目，并结合基于社区的干预研究项目。第一个项目是一项以社区为基础的流行病学研究，对象是400名6-12岁的儿童及其家庭，以确定相关的空气接触，并检查这些接触导致哮喘发病率的基因决定因素。第二个项目是以社区为基础的参与性研究项目，这是一项针对120名儿童的随机对照临床试验，目的是探讨行为方法对减少污染物和过敏原暴露的有效性及其对健康的不利影响。第三个项目检查了颗粒物可能加剧呼吸道中过敏原驱动的反应的机制。第四个项目由一名新招募的研究人员进行，将研究环境颗粒物对外周血单核细胞体外成熟为树突状细胞的影响。这些项目将得到数据管理和风险评估核心设施的支持。另一个核心设施将增加该中心现有的社区外联和翻译活动。行政核心将支持研究和大会，以整合中心的兴趣和活动。一个社区咨询委员会为环境流行病学项目和基于社区的干预研究项目规划做出了贡献，并同意定期与中心研究人员会面，讨论中心的发现和进展。招聘了一个由七名成员组成的外部咨询委员会。这个协调的跨学科小组获得的信息将使我们能够为未来的研究制定合理的计划，以检查易受影响的儿童，并在未来与东巴尔的摩社区合作家庭的研究中计划更有效的干预措施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) The long-term goals of this Center are to examine how exposures to environmental pollutants and allergens may relate to airway inflammation and respiratory morbidity in children with asthma living in the inner city of Baltimore, and to search for new ways to reduce asthma morbidity by reducing exposure to these agents. To accomplish these goals the Center includes both basic and applied research programs in combination with a community based intervention research project. The first project is a community based epidemiologic study of 400 children 6-12 and their homes to identify relevant airborne exposures and to examine genetic determinants of asthma morbidity resulting from these exposures. The second project is community based participatory research project that is a randomized controlled clinical trial in 120 children of the effectiveness of behavioral methods to reducing pollutant and allergen exposures and their adverse health effects. The third project examines the mechanisms by which particulate matter may exacerbate an allergen driven response in of the airways. The fourth project, conducted by a newly recruited investigator, will examine the effects of environmental particulates on the in vitro maturation of peripheral blood monocytes to dendritic cells. These projects will be supported by core facilities for data management and exposure assessment. Another core facility will increase the Center's existing community outreach and translational activities. An Administrative Core will support research and general meetings to integrate the interests and activities of the Center. A community advisory committee has contributed to both the environmental epidemiology project and the community based intervention research project planning, and has agreed to meet periodically with Center researchers to discuss the Center's findings and progress. A seven member External Advisory Committee as been recruited. Information gained by this coordinated interdisciplinary team will allow rational plans to be made for future studies to examine susceptible children and to plan even more effective interventions in future studies with collaborating families in the East Baltimore Community.