Breathing easy under fire: heliox may boost warfighter brainpower
NCT ID NCT07424014
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether breathing a lighter gas mixture (heliox) can make it easier to breathe and think clearly when breathing is hard. Fifteen healthy adults will breathe normal air or heliox while doing thinking tests. The goal is to see if reducing the work of breathing improves focus and reduces the feeling of breathlessness.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Heliox (helium-oxygen gas mixture)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward ways to help warfighters and others breathe easier and think clearer in high-stress environments.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early-phase study with only 15 healthy volunteers, so results may not apply to real-world combat or to people with health conditions.
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.
- Phase
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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2026
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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.
- Ages
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18 to 40 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: * Between the ages of 18-40 years old. * English speaking and reading. * Self-reported weekly activity of at least 120 minutes/week of high intensity exercise for the previous 2 years. * Normal pulmonary function assessed by a resting forced expiratory volume in 1 second over forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) \> 75% of predicted. * Normal cognitive function assessed using the Montreal cognitive function test \[18\]. * Body mass index (BMI) ≤ 35 kg/m2. * Females with a regular menstrual cycle that ranges from 21-35 days (eumenorrhea) Exclusion Criteria: * History of smoking or recreational smoking, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, pulmonary disease (including asthma or exercise-induced asthma), neurological disease, and metabolic disease. * Are pregnant or could possibly be pregnant by self-report. * Are color blind. * Known allergy or hypersensitivity latex. * Take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, stimulant medication, antibiotics, and chronically consume pain medication (Aleve, Tylenol, etc.). * Resting blood pressure of \> 130mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic and/or resting pulse rate of \> 100 bpm. * Females with irregular menstrual cycles (oligomenorrhea) that ranges from 36-90 days, and females with the absence of a menstrual cycle (amenorrhea). * Taking birth control for the sole purpose of period cessation (eg., Mirena IUD)
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Multidisciplinary Engineering and Sciences Hall (MESH)
RECRUITINGBloomington, Indiana, 47405, United States
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