IMPACT v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
IMaging of the Purinergic P2x7 receptor in Alzheimer's and Lewy body CogniTive disorders (IMPACT)
IRAS ID
322373
Contact name
John O'Brien
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Inflammation of the brain, known as neuroinflammation, is thought to be one of the important causes for developing dementia. Several researchers have been working to develop ways to show brain inflammation using brain imaging. This could be helpful to identify people who are at risk of developing dementia, and also may be useful in future studies as a marker to show if treatments to lower inflammation are working or not, by measuring it in the same person before and after a treatment.
Although many different chemicals and molecules are involved in inflammation in the brain, a receptor called P2X7 is an important molecule in brain inflammation and has shown promising results in preclinical studies, such as slowing down the build up of Alzheimer’s type changes in mice. However, no research has been conducted to study this molecule in people living with dementia.
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a type of brain scan which allows us to look at cellular processes during life by measuring radioactivity from a dye injected into participants which is designed to highlight a specific molecule in the brain. Recently, dyes have been developed which bind to the P2X7 receptor. Previous research to study inflammation using brain scans had certain limitations such as the previous dyes not being able to pick up smaller changes. This research aims to test this new dye for the P2X7 receptor to see if we can detect increased levels in people with mild dementia.
In this study we will scan volunteers with different conditions associated with dementia, including mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, diseases causing frontotemporal dementia and closely related conditions (including progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome) and healthy similarly aged adults. We aim to (i) more clearly understand the relationship between brain inflammation and the stage, severity and progression in symptoms of dementia, and (ii) provide evidence to support the use of the new dye in different dementias.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0758
Date of REC Opinion
15 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion