Chicagoland Metropolitan AsthmaNet Consortium (CMAC)

描述(由申请人提供)：这份由芝加哥大都会哮喘联盟(OMAG)提出的申请是对题为“NHLBI哮喘网络临床中心(AsthmaNet)”的RFA的回应。芝加哥大都市区有600多万居民，他们的种族和民族是多样化的。芝加哥约占总人口的一半，儿童和成人的哮喘患病率都很高(两组都超过10%)，是美国哮喘死亡率最高的城市之一。CMAC包括学术医疗中心合作伙伴：西北大学、芝加哥大学、儿童纪念医院和约翰·H·斯特罗格医院，以及一个庞大的社区合作伙伴网络。CMAC是唯一有资格参与AsthmaNet并为开发和成功完成网络临床试验和概念验证/机制研究做出贡献的机构。这是基于在哮喘临床和转译研究方面拥有丰富经验的关键人员，包括探索其病理生理学、发病机制(遗传和环境因素)、流行病学和治疗的研究；在各自机构的关键研究支持计划(包括CTSA资助的)中发挥领导作用；成功地在几个哮喘研究项目上合作：接触到大量、多样化的哮喘人群；以及成功地在NIH、基金会和行业赞助的哮喘研究和临床试验中招募患者和对照对象。建议的研究涉及几个重要问题，包括：对吸烟的成人哮喘患者的治疗方法；在哮喘发作季节之前积极的预治疗对儿童哮喘患者的作用；非经典MHC抗原--人类白细胞抗原-G在季节性哮喘加重中的表达；哮喘儿童阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停(OSA)的发生率以及OSA治疗是否改善哮喘症状、生活质量和肺功能。CMAC的参与将加强AsthmaNet，增加它实现其目标的可能性，即解决儿童和成人哮喘最重要的哮喘管理问题和新的治疗方法，并为临床实践和NAEPP指南的未来更新提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application from the Chicagoland Metropolitan AsthmaNet Consortium (OMAG) is in response to the RFA entitled "Clinical Centers for the NHLBI Asthma Network (AsthmaNet)". The Chicago Metropolitan area has more than 6 million inhabitants who are racially and ethnically diverse. The City of Chicago, which represents about half of this population, has high asthma prevalence rates in both children and adults (exceeding 10% in both groups) and has one of the highest asthma mortality rates in the United States. The CMAC includes academic medical center partners: Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Children's Memorial Hospital, and John H. Stroger Hospital, and an expansive network of Community Partners. The CMAC is uniquely qualified to participate in AsthmaNet and contribute to the development and successful completion of the network clinical trials and proof of concept/mechanistic studies. This is based on the key personnel having extensive experience in asthma clinical and translational research, including studies exploring its pathophysiology, pathogenesis (genetic and environmental factors), epidemiology and treatment; leadership roles in key research support (including CTSA-funded) programs at their respective institutions; successfully worked together on several asthma research programs: access to a large, diverse asthma population; and successfully enrolled patients and control subjects in NIH, foundation and industry sponsored asthma research studies and clinical trials. The studies proposed address several important issues including: treatment approaches to adult asthmatics who smoke; the role of aggressive pre-treatment in pediatric asthmatics prior to the exacerbation season; the expression of HLA-G, a non-classical MHC antigen, in seasonal asthma exacerbations; and the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in asthmatic children and whether treatment of OSA improves asthma symptoms, quality of life and lung function. Participation by the CMAC will strengthen AsthmaNet and increase the likelihood that it will achieve its goal to address the most important asthma management questions and new treatment approaches in pediatric and adult asthma and inform clinical practice and future updates to the NAEPP guidelines.