Biomarkers and Outcomes in CAA (BOCAA)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Observational study of biomarkers and outcomes in cerebral amyloid angiopathy
IRAS ID
164167
Contact name
Smaragda Agathou
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is an increasingly recognised disease of the aging brain. It affects 20 - 40% of the elderly population, and is associated with dementia and spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH – bleeding within the brain). Dementia and ICH are both significant health priorities both nationally and internationally; dementia currently affects 800,000 people in the UK and costs the UK economy £23 billion per year, with rates predicted to double and costs set to treble by 2040; ICH causes 10% of stroke in high-income countries and 20% in low-income and middle-income countries, with a 1 year survival rate of 46% and a 5 year survival rate of only 29%.
CAA has recently become a promising target for treatment, which could substantially reduce the burden of ICH and dementia. However, our understanding of how CAA develops from diagnosis to outcome (either dementia or ICH) is incomplete, limiting our ability to evaluate new treatments. Biomarkers are objectively measured characteristics that can be evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, disease processes, or responses to an intervention. This project aims to discover new biomarkers for CAA.
We will invite patients with CAA (diagnosed according to standard validated diagnostic criteria) and healthy matched controls to participate, and undertake imaging of the brain using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in order to identify new advanced imaging biomarkers for CAA. In addition, participants will be invited to provide cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples for biomarker analysis, and blood samples for genetic or biomarker studies. The collected parameters will be correlated with detailed neuropsychological and functional profiles. Follow up questionnaires will be sent out to patients and GPs at 6 months and 1 year, and then annually for up to 5 years following recruitment.
We will compare the study cohort to routine clinical data from larger cohorts of patients with ICH, patients enrolled in other relevant studies, and publicly available anonymised datasets.
REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1443
Date of REC Opinion
28 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion