Research

How Children Respond to Fluticasone and Montelukast (CLIC)

Children with similar levels of asthma may respond quite differently to common asthma medications. The main purpose of this study, called Characterizing the Response to a Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist and an Inhaled Corticosteroid, is to examine how children respond to two asthma medications: Fluticasone (an inhaled corticosteroid) and Montelukast (a leukotriene modifier). The study will include about 210 children nationwide, ages 6 to 18, with mild to moderate persistent asthma.

During the 16-week study, the children will take medications and placebos in different orders for 4-week periods. For example, for 4 weeks the children will inhale Fluticasone and take a placebo tablet. For another 4 weeks, they will take an active Montelukast tablet and inhale a placebo.

Information gleaned from the study will be used to answer these three questions:

• Is the response to inhaled Fluticasone independent of the response to Montelukast in children with mild to moderate persistent asthma?
• What body features, including genetics, are related to a good or poor response to each medication?
• Does the course of asthma or specific genes for allergy and asthma influence a child's response to Fluticasone or Montelukast?

Primary focus: Asthma