Is CAA associated with stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Is cerebral amyloid angiopathy associated with stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage?
IRAS ID
186992
Contact name
Rustam Al-Shahi Salman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
About one in six strokes are due to bleeding into the brain. 15,000 adults in the UK suffer such a stroke annually and the effects can be devastating. We are currently unable to identify a cause for over 85% of all strokes due to haemorrhage. We seek to understand more about a cause of brain haemorrhage called cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). CAA is the build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in the blood vessels of the brain, and is frequently assumed to cause bleeds which occur near the surface of the brain.
At present, CAA can only be diagnosed with certainty on pathological examination. However, a low-dose radioactive tracer called 18F-flutemetamol has been shown to detect amyloid deposits within the brain. This tracer is given as an injection that can be seen by an MR-PET scanner.
The aim of this study is therefore to confirm whether this tracer can help detect CAA as an underlying cause of brain haemorrhage in life.
Over a 2 year period, we will consecutively recruit 30 patients admitted to hospitals in the Lothian region with a brain haemorrhage that has occurred near the surface of the brain (lobar haemorrhage). These patients will be compared to 15 controls who have been admitted to hospital with a bleed deep within the brain (deep haemorrhage).
Patients will be asked to give their consent for an MR-PET scan to help detect underlying CAA and amyloid plaques. The scan will take place roughly 6 months after their stroke, at the Clinical Research Imaging Centre at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
We would anticipate starting the study in August 2016 with recruitment lasting 2 years. We will aim to recruit patients who had their haemorrhage from August 2015.
This study is funded by GE Healthcare, MRC, Stroke Association and Wellcome Trust.
REC name
Scotland A: Adults with Incapacity only
REC reference
16/SS/0111
Date of REC Opinion
2 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion