(duplicate) Tear Fluid Biomarkers of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Tear Fluid Cytokines and Metabolic Proteins as Novel, Non-Invasive Biomarkers of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)
IRAS ID
343583
Contact name
Suzanne Hagan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
GCU
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) is an under-researched, vision-threatening disorder, which presents with raised pressure around the brain, headaches, double vision/vision loss and it mainly affects obese women of child-bearing age. To preserve vision in patients with IIH (pwIIH), rapid intervention (diagnosis and treatment) is necessary. Globally, IIH is increasing alongside obesity levels and IIH is now considered to be a metabolic condition, like diabetes.
The biology underpinning IIH is unclear, however research shows changes to levels of inflammatory and metabolic proteins in the blood and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of pwIIH, which may be biological markers of IIH.
This research will investigate if there are changes to the protein levels of tear fluids from pwIIH. Both inflammation-related and metabolism-related proteins will be measured in all subject tears. Moreover, we will use questionnaires to assess the vision and headache-related quality of life in pwIIH. Additionally, detailed scans of the retina and blood glucose levels will be measured to see if they correlate with tear protein levels and other clinical measures of IIH. This will allow us to determine if tear proteins, along with clinical measures, may serve as new markers of IIH. This should also lead to increased understanding of the biological processes underpinning this condition. As tears can be sampled non-invasively, they may be a useful additional biological fluid in helping to diagnose and/or monitor IIH.
(additional text is provided, as requested in "Lay Sumary A6-1", in the attached documents).REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
24/WS/0104
Date of REC Opinion
15 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion