COPD's hidden toll on the brain revealed
NCT ID NCT03269721
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This completed study looked at 170 smokers with COPD to understand how lung damage affects brain structure and thinking skills. Participants took memory and thinking tests, had lung function tests, and underwent brain scans. The goal was to find early clues that could one day lead to treatments to protect the brain.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this research could point toward ways to delay or prevent memory and thinking problems in people with COPD.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not a treatment trial. It only looks for links between lung health and brain changes, so it won't directly lead to a new therapy.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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170 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2017
- Finished
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Apr 2025
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Participants will be recruited from the Iowa COPD research registry, which includes participants from several NIH funded studies with quantitative lung imaging obtained in the Iowa Comprehensive Lung Imaging Center.
- Ages
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30 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Age 30-85, \> 8th grade education, Normal/corrected hearing and vision, English Speaker, Ability to comfortably lie flat for 1 hour. Exclusion Criteria: Other concomitant respiratory disorder other than asthma (e.g., cystic fibrosis), Use of antibiotics or steroids for a COPD exacerbation within the past month, Use of 24-hour oxygen, Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy, Uncontrolled cancer within the last 5 years, Radiation therapy to the chest, Lung surgery (LVRS, transplant, lobectomy), Lung cancer known or suspected, Eye surgery in the last 3 months, Pulmonary Hypertension, Insulin-dependent diabetes, Inability to use albuterol, Chest or abdominal surgery in the past 3 months, Heart attack in the last 3 months, Hospitalization for any heart problem in the past month, Prior neurological condition (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, head injury with \>15 mins. loss of consciousness), Previous diagnosis of dementia or learning disability, Major comorbid medical conditions with known cognitive effects (e.g., renal failure, HF), Psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, current substance use disorder other than tobacco use, Change in psychiatric medication in last month, Claustrophobia, Metal object in body that may interfere with neuroimaging.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States
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