Injury, inflammatory markers & the exacerbation of confusion: ASCRIBED
Research type
Research Study
Full title
ASCRIBED: The impact of Acute SystematiC inflammation upon cerebRospinal fluId and blood BiomarkErs of brain inflammation and injury in Dementia: a study in acute hip fracture patients
IRAS ID
218046
Contact name
Chris Fox
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 26 days
Research summary
Research suggests that acute illnesses or injury causing inflammation can accelerate dementia. However there are few studies which examine underlying mechanisms of how this happens in humans. We aim to address this gap. We will compare markers of inflammation and injury found in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people with and without confirmed dementia who fracture their fracture. A hip fracture is a common example of an acute injury causing an inflammatory response.
People who fracture their hip will undergo an operation to repair it. A common procedure during this operation is the giving of spinal aesthetic. This involves inserting a needle into the patient’s spinal space and injecting anaesthesia into the fluid which bathes the spinal cord (i.e. the CSF). This means CSF can be collected before operation via the same needle.We will approach and recruit patients due to have a hip fracture operation via spinal anaesthesia with all levels of pre-operative confusion. Patients will be allocated post-operatively to one of three groups; A) confirmed dementia (as obtained from patient’s GP notes/hospital records and/or carer insight); B) non-dementia (no evidence of dementia found in patent’s GP notes/medical records) groupings; C) pre-operatively confused but without confirmed dementia. We aim to recruit 400 patient in total. Consent will be gained for the storage of surplus samples in a bio-bank to help future studies. Pre-operative blood and CSF samples, post-operative blood samples and a short cognitive questionnaire will be administered to all patients. We will also obtain blood samples and data on memory and thinking at 1, 3 and 6 months from a subgroup of patients. This will allow us to look at the effect of the injury on cognitive decline over this period.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NE/0420
Date of REC Opinion
21 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion