Effect of asthma on immune response to pneumococcus

Take part in our research into a nasal vaccine for pneumonia. If you are aged under 50, have mild, well controlled asthma, find out more.

We invite volunteers who meet the criteria for the Asthma study to have a few drops of the bacteria in the nose followed by careful monitoring. (You will be paid for your time and inconvenience)

What is the purpose of the study?

Pneumonia is a common condition, and a leading cause of death.  It is most commonly caused by a bacteria called Pneumococcus.

Very young children and adults who are elderly or have other medical conditions such as asthma are more likely to become ill due to pneumonia. We are not sure why the risk is increased in asthma and would like to study the immune response to this bacteria in asthma.  This will help us understand why there is an increased risk of pneumonia in asthma.

Small numbers of these bacteria are often found in the nose. Usually, the carrier does not know the bacteria are there.

Our research team want to study what happens when small numbers of a bacteria (pneumococcus) are put up the nose of people with asthma. We have already studied this in more than 500 volunteers, and have found this type of study to be safe.

This is part of a larger project looking at developing  vaccines. We may be able to protect people against severe disease from pneumococcus using a vaccine which could be sprayed into the nose of people with asthma. We don’t yet know if this will work. 

Would you like to take part in our research?

The information leaflet attached tells you how you could take part. A member of our team will also discuss it with you: please ask us if you have questions. You may want to talk to other people about the study: please do so. Take your time to decide if you want to be involved.

If you would like to take part in our research and are aged under 50, have mild, well controlled asthma and not in close contact with children under 5, please contact Respiratory Research for further information:

Text: 2VOL1 to 88802 

Email: 2volresearch@lstmed.ac.uk

Tel: 0151 706 3381