Treatment With AKL1 in Obstructive Airways Disease (The TAKL Study)

Obstructive airways disease is a very common condition. This condition includes patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Some patients with obstructive airways disease have problems with long term breathlessness, wheeze and cough with or without sputum production. Currently the researchers give treatments - usually inhalers - which are designed to open the airways and reduce the breathlessness and wheeze. Despite these available treatments many patients still have continuing symptoms. Anecdotal clinical evidence suggested that a herbal remedy (called AKL1) has beneficial effects in respiratory conditions, with patients diagnosed as having both asthma and COPD reporting reduced symptoms including breathlessness and cough and reduced frequency of attacks.The purpose of this study is to confirm whether AKL1 does indeed have a meaningful benefit to patients with obstructive airways disease. The researchers will mainly be measuring any effect of AKL by assessing any change in trial subjects' coughs, using a questionnaire, but the researchers will also looking at breathing tests, walking tests, blood and sputum tests.

The outcomes of care for obstructive airways disease in the UK and other countries fail to meet guideline targets, with high levels of avoidable morbidity and avoidable mortality. Obstructive lung disease is an encompassing term for a condition that includes patients with a reversible (asthma) or non reversible (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) component to their lung function. AKL1 is a novel pharmaceutical agent derived from a combination of botanical products developed as a treatment for obstructive lung disease (asthma and COPD). The botanical product contains a synthetically-derived phytochemical component of Picrorrhiza kurroa, apocynin, together with standardized extracts of Picrorrhiza kurroa, Zingiber officinale and Ginkgo biloba that have previously been marketed as a health food supplements. Recent evidence suggests that Ginkgo biloba reduces inflammatory (protein kinase C positive ie eosinophils and neutrophils) cells in induced sputum which given in addition to inhaled corticosteroids to asthmatic patients. Anecdotal clinical evidence suggests that the botanical product has significant activity in respiratory conditions, with patients diagnosed as having obstructive lung disease (asthma and COPD) reporting reduced symptoms including breathlessness and cough, reduced frequency of attacks, reduced dependence on bronchodilators and ability to reduce inhaled corticosteroids dose. We have completed a pilot study investigating the efficacy and safety of AKL1 as 'add-on' therapy for adult patients diagnosed as having obstructive lung disease whose symptoms remained uncontrolled on standard medication. Whilst there was no significant differences in lung function, there were trends to clinical improvements in the patient-centered outcomes e.g. cough, health status and exacerbation frequency. Hence a larger adequately powered study is needed to investigate these outcomes further.