BRAIN: Biomarker Research to Assess Inflammation in Neurodegeneration

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    BRAIN: Biomarker Research to Assess Inflammation in Neurodegeneration

  • IRAS ID

    280218

  • Contact name

    Christopher Kipps

  • Contact email

    christopher.kipps@uhs.nhs.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    5 years, 9 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    Many neurological diseases present with similar cognitive, behavioural and/or movement symptoms, particularly in the early stages of disease. This hampers accurate diagnosis of dementia, and patient care could be substantially improved with more accurate identification of type of dementia and prediction of future decline.

    Clinicians have access to an increasing array of tools to assist in the diagnosis of dementia, including brain imaging techniques and fluid biomarkers such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Despite these new developments in diagnosis, the available fluid and imaging biomarkers do not yet accurately predict the rate of cognitive decline, suggesting that additional factors may influence disease severity and/or progression.

    Recent studies have shown convincing evidence that activation of the immune system can influence Alzheimer’s disease progression and/or severity. This is mediated by inflammatory mediators, which exacerbate the production of abnormal proteins and neuronal loss. Evaluating inflammatory biomarkers in the CSF and/or blood may therefore provide enhanced diagnostic results. An important outstanding question is whether specific immune pathways, or signatures, rather than individual biomarkers, can be identified in the CSF and linked with increased risk of disease progression, or dementia subtypes. Modulation of these immune pathways could lead to future therapeutic or preventive strategies for Alzheimer's.

    In this project, we aim to study the link between neuroinflammation and brain function in patients with dementia. In this proposal, we will analyse CSF samples for the presence of inflammation and vascular injury markers. These novel CSF biomarker findings will be linked to patient functional levels and symptom inventory scores, and brain patterns on imaging. Our proposed study will generate pilot data towards the identification of novel immune pathways that link inflammation in CSF to clinically defined dementia and its progression.

  • REC name

    North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    20/NW/0222

  • Date of REC Opinion

    30 Apr 2020

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion