Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Risk Assessment of Aortic Dissection
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Risk Assessment of Aortic Dissection - Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry-Based Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Risk Assessment of Aortic Dissection (The “IS IT AORTIC?" study)
IRAS ID
326205
Contact name
Anna Maria Choy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Dundee School of Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Acute aortic dissection is a life threating sudden tear in the aorta, the main blood vessel from the heart, that requires emergency treatment. Unfortunately, aortic dissection remains associated with poor survival (less than 50%) largely due to delayed or missed diagnosis. Aortic dissections usually occur in patients with aortic
enlargement, i.e. aortic aneurysm, which is caused by inherited diseases such as Marfan syndrome, or can be due to age, high blood pressure and smoking. Aneurysms do not usually cause symptoms, so many remain undiagnosed until dissection occurs. In patients diagnosed with an aneurysm, regular scans of the aorta are arranged, and if the aneurysm reaches a certain size, pre-emptive surgical repair is recommended. However, these scans do not pick up all patients who are at risk of dissection, as a significant number of patients have a dissection or rupture despite their aortic size being smaller than the recommended cut-off for surgery. In the event of acute dissection, the diagnosis in emergency settings in notoriously difficult and is one of the reasons why the death rate is so high. It would be ideal if there was a simple, robust blood test to diagnosis acute aortic dissection/rupture and to identify those at risk of dissection/rupture.
This study plans to develop and evaluate a fast, novel assay test that simultaneously monitors desmosine and several novel matrix degradation and inflammation/oxidative stress markers, which are derived from the aorta wall damage. In doing so, we aim to increase diagnostic accuracy and reduce analytical time. We anticipate that the developed assay and biomarkers could be used in emergency settings to diagnose aortic dissection, in annual follow-up visits of patients with aortic aneurysms, and in a surveillance programme.REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/0768
Date of REC Opinion
21 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion