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Contact and appointment information
Administrative
Office
Dr. James Gossage, MD,
Director
Section of Pulmonary
1120 15th Street
BBR5513
Augusta, GA 30912-3130
Phone: (706) 721-6791
Fax: (706) 721-3069
Patient Calls
New Patient Referrals and Questions:
Heather Wilson, Office Associate
Phone: (706) 721-6791
Jody Kenny, RN
(706) 721-6791
Return Patient Appointments:
Phone:
(706) 721-4495
Medication Refills:
Phone: (706) 721-1790
Map and directions
to Medical College of Georgia
Hospital & near-by hotels
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Research Studies at MCG
Our center is currently
involved in a number of clinical research studies of new treatments for PH.
The basics of some of these studies are listed below. If you are interested
in finding out more about these research studies please contact Melissa
James at 706-721-8391.
Ambrisentan
Ambrisentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist, like
bosentan. It is a research drug and has been studied
in about 140 healthy persons and patients with PAH so far. Common side
effects are similar to
bosentan and have
included leg swelling, nasal congestion, headache, flushing, nausea,
palpitations, cough, dizziness, and chest discomfort. For more information
on ambrisentan, click
here.
ARIES-1
This research
study is enrolling patients with
class II, III, and IV
PAH. Patients who enroll are divided into three groups at random (like
flipping a coin): ambrisentan 5 mg daily, ambrisentan 10 mg daily, and
placebo (basically, a sugar pill). Patients undergo a variety of tests
before starting the drug, after 4 weeks of treatment, after 8 weeks of
treatment, and after 12 weeks of treatment (which is the total length of the
study). These tests include a physical exam, electrocardiogram, 6 minute
walk, and filling out a quality of life questionnaire. You will also have
blood tests every 2-4 weeks. The main advantages of participating in this
research study are that the drugs are free and you are helping doctors to
learn more about treatment of an illness that you have. The main
disadvantage of participating in this research study is that it is not yet
known whether this treatment will help you feel better or help your PH. One
nice feature of this study is that if you take the drug for at least 1 month
and then start to feel worse, you can enroll into an extension study in
which all patients get ambrisentan (i.e. there is no placebo group).
ARIES-1 extension
This research
study is for patients who successfully complete the
ARIES-1 study. All
patients in this study will receive ambrisentan. All patients in this study
will receive ambrisentan at a dose of 2.5, 5, or 10 mg daily. Patients
undergo a variety of tests before starting the drug, after 1 month, after 3
months, after 4 months, after 6 months, and then every 3 months for as long
as they are in the study. These tests include a physical exam, 6 minute
walk, and filling out a quality of life questionnaire. You will also have
blood tests in the beginning and then every 3 months. The main advantages
of participating in this research study are that the drugs are free and you
are helping doctors to learn more about treatment of an illness that you
have. The main disadvantage of participating in this research study is that
it is not yet known whether this treatment will help you feel better or help
your PH.
Sitaxsentan
Sitaxsentan is an
endothelin receptor antagonist, like
bosentan. It
is a research drug and has been studied in over 300 healthy persons and
patients with PAH so far. Common side effects are similar to
bosentan and have included leg swelling, nasal
congestion, headache, flushing, nausea, palpitations, cough, dizziness, and
chest discomfort. For more information on sitaxsentan, click
here.
FPH02
This research
study is enrolling patients with
class II, III, and IV
PAH. Patients who enroll are divided into four groups at random (like
flipping a coin): sitaxsentan 50 mg daily, sitaxsentan 100 mg daily,
bosentan
125 mg twice daily, and placebo (basically,
a sugar pill). Patients undergo a variety of tests before starting the
drug, after 6 weeks of treatment, after 12 weeks of treatment, and after 18
weeks of treatment (which is the total length of the study). These tests
include a physical exam, 6 minute walk, electrocardiogram, and filling out a
quality of life questionnaire. You will also have blood tests every 2-4
weeks. The main advantages of participating in this research study are that
the drugs are free and you are helping doctors to learn more about treatment
of an illness that you have. The main disadvantage of participating in
this research study is that it is not yet known whether this treatment will
help you feel better or help your PH. One nice feature of this study is that
one of the treatment groups includes an FDA approved drug -
bosentan. If you start to feel worse during the
study and were taking the low dose of sitaxsentan or the placebo, you can
potentially enroll into the FPH02 extension study
in which all patients get 100 mg sitaxsentan or
bosentan
(i.e.
there is no placebo group).
FPH02 extension
This research
study is for patients who successfully complete the
FPH02 study or got
worse during the FPH02 study and were taking either placebo or sitaxsentan
50 mg daily. All patients in this study will either receive sitaxsentan 100
mg daily or
bosentan
125 mg
twice daily. Patients undergo a variety of tests before starting the drug,
after 12 weeks of treatment, after 24 weeks of treatment, and after 36 weeks
of treatment (which is the total length of the study). These tests include
a physical exam, 6 minute walk, electrocardiogram, and filling out a quality
of life questionnaire. You will also have blood tests every 2-4 weeks. The
main advantages of participating in this research study are that the drugs
are free and you are helping doctors to learn more about treatment of an
illness that you have. The main disadvantage of participating in this
research study is that it is not yet known whether this treatment will help
you feel better or help your PH.
FPH03
This research
study is for patients with
class II, III, and IV
PAH who do not quite meet the
enrollment criteria for the FPH02 study or
who failed to get better on sitaxsentan 50 mg daily. All patients in this
study will receive sitaxsentan 100 mg daily. Patients undergo a variety of
tests before starting the drug, after 28 weeks of treatment, and after 52
weeks of treatment (which is the total length of the study). These tests
include a physical exam, 6 minute walk, electrocardiogram, and filling out a
quality of life questionnaire. You will also have blood tests every 2-4
weeks. The main advantages of participating in this research study are that
the drugs are free and you are helping doctors to learn more about treatment
of an illness that you have. The main disadvantage of participating in this
research study is that it is not yet known whether this treatment will help
you feel better or help your PH. |
