Welcome to the Doxycycline for Emphysema in People Living with HIV (DEPTH) Trial

Why is the DEPTH Trial important?

There is no treatment to slow the progression of emphysema. Furthermore, the DEPTH trial is the only interventional trial for lung disease in people living with HIV.

What is the DEPTH Trial?

DEPTH is a 72-week research study looking to see if doxycycline (an antibiotic medication) will help slow the progression of emphysema. We are reaching out to people who are currently smoking or have previously smoked and are living with HIV.

Emphysema is a slowly developing lung disease and one of the most preventable respiratory conditions. Emphysema is relatively common among individuals exposed to tobacco. As the disease progresses, airways narrow and lung tissue becomes damaged, negatively affecting how air flows throughout the lungs. Emphysema symptoms include shortness of breath, cough and increased mucus production. Learn more about emphysema:https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/emphysema

The early stages of emphysema are often overlooked since affected individuals may not develop specific respiratory symptoms until years after the disease begins.

We are looking for volunteers who are 30 years of age and older, are living with HIV, and who currently smoke or have previously smoked cigarettes to participate in our study. Participants will be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to either doxycycline or placebo.