Obesity and asthma: scientists probe hidden airway damage

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: Asthma Cohort INCLUSION * Adequate completion of informed consent process with written documentation * Male and female patients, 18 - 65 years old, inclusive * Physician diagnosis of asthma for \> 1 year * Able to perform reproducible spirometry according to ATS criteria * Post-bronchodilator FEV1 ≥ 60% of predicted at Visit 0 * All racial/ethnic backgrounds may participate * BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 * Regular treatment with ICS or ICS/LABA and/or LAMA combination medication for at least 3 months; on a stable dose for the 4 weeks prior to Visit 0 * Smoking history \<10 pack years and no smoking in the last 3 months * Late onset asthma: Age of asthma onset (diagnosis) ≥12 years; * FeNO \< 25 ppb at Visit 0 * Negative allergen skin test * Early onset asthma: Age of asthma onset (diagnosis) \<12 years * FeNO ≥ 25 ppb at Visit 0 * Positive allergen skin test Non-Asthma Cohort INCLUSION * No history of asthma or other chronic lung diseases * Male and female patients, 18 - 65 years old, inclusive * Not currently smoking or using other forms of tobacco-related products (including vaping) * Smoking history \<10 pack years and no smoking in the past 3 months * FEV1 \> 80% of predicted and FEV1/FVC \> lower limit of normal. * Ability to sign consent * BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 * Negative allergen skin test Additional INCLUSION Criteria for MRI * Outpatients of either gender, age \> 18 * Willing and able to give informed consent and adhere to visit/protocol schedules. (Consent must be given before any study procedures are performed.) * Women of childbearing potential must have a negative urine pregnancy test prior to MRI. EXCLUSION Criteria Asthma Cohort EXCLUSION: * Respiratory tract infection within the 4 weeks prior to Visit 0 * Oral or systemic corticosteroid burst (for any indication) within the 4 weeks prior to Visit 0. One-time doses, such as intra-articular injections into a shoulder or knee joint, require a 4- week washout prior to Visit 0 * Asthma-related ER visit within the previous 4 weeks of Visit 0 * History of ICU admission/intubation due to asthma in the past 1 year * Three or more asthma exacerbations requiring treatment with systemic corticosteroids in the past year consistent with severe asthma * Asthma exacerbation requiring systemic corticosteroids within the 4 weeks prior to Visit 0 * Significant concomitant medical illness, including (but not limited to) heart disease, cancer, uncontrolled diabetes, other chronic lung diseases * Chronic renal failure (creatinine \> 2.0) at Visit 0 * Positive urine pregnancy test at Visit 0 or at any time during the study * Untreated sleep apnea * Participation in an intervention study (including, bronchoscopy) or use of investigative drugs within the past 30 days or plans to enroll in such a trial during the study * Unable or unlikely to complete study assessments in the opinion of the Investigator * Study intervention poses undue risk to patient in the opinion of the Investigator * History of bronchial thermoplasty Non-Asthma Cohort EXCLUSION: * Respiratory tract infection within the 4 weeks prior to Visit 0 Oral or systemic corticosteroid burst (for any indication) within the 4 weeks prior to Visit 0. One-time doses, such as intra-articular injections into a shoulder or knee joint, require a 4-week washout prior to Visit 0 * Significant concomitant medical illness, including (but not limited to) heart disease, cancer, uncontrolled diabetes, other chronic lung diseases * Chronic renal failure (creatinine \> 2.0) at Visit 0 * Positive urine pregnancy test at Visit 0 or at any time during the study * Untreated sleep apnea * Participation in an intervention study (including bronchoscopy) or use of investigative drugs within the past 30 days or plans to enroll in such a trial during the study * Unable or unlikely to complete study assessments in the opinion of the Investigator * Study intervention poses undue risk to patient in the opinion of the Investigator Additional EXCLUSION Criteria for MRI * Medical or psychological conditions which, in the opinion of the investigator, might create undue risk to the subject or interfere with the subject's ability to comply with the protocol requirements * Conditions that will prohibit MRI scanning (metal in eye, claustrophobia, inability to lie supine, shoulder circumference \>140 cm\*.) \*This measurement is not an absolute as it can vary based on weight distribution.