The project is designed to test whether inhaled corticosteroids (triamcinolone acetonide 1200 ug per day) cause supression of the hypophyseal-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis or decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in people with mild to moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study is ancillary to a large NIH-sponsored, multicenter, clinical trial testing the value of inhaled corticosteroids in COPD, the Lung Health Study II. The study is testing Cortrosyn stimulation tests and bone mineral density in patients on inhaled steroids or placebo at baseline, one year, and at three years. The one- year follow-up is nearly completeed with 37 patients participating. The three-year follow-up will begin in late 1998. Because the study is double- blinded, results are not available to the investigators; however, preliminary results have been reviewed by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board commissioned by the NIH-NHLBI.
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