(May) Phase1-HD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Phase1-HD: A pilot phase contrast MRI study of cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in Huntington’s disease.
IRAS ID
119632
Contact name
Edward Wild
Contact email
Research summary
The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by clear fluid called cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, that is produced by the brain and slowly flows around the nervous system. At the moment, we do not know whether CSF flow is normal or altered in Huntington’s disease (HD) but some research suggests it might be.
It would be useful to answer this question, because some treatments that are being developed for HD may need to be injected into the CSF in order to reach the brain. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner can be used to measure how fast the fluid is flowing, using a technique called phase contrast imaging.
The purpose of this study is to develop the phase contrast MRI technique for use in Huntington’s disease and see whether there are any major differences between people with and without HD. Ten patients with early HD and ten study control subjects (“matched-control) participants will be recruited. Each participant will have one visit lasting a couple of hours. For the patients and matched-controls it will involve a routine clinical interview and examination, which will be done as part of an existing study called REGISTRY (NHS REC Ref: Ref: 1OA/VSE04/7). A small blood sample will be collected to measure the concentration of the blood, since that might affect the flow of CSF. After a standard meal and drink, an MRI scan lasting around 45 minutes will be done, including phase contrast scans of the brain and spinal cord.
This is a pilot study, which will be used to get the scanning methods right and get an idea of how many people we’d need to scan, to do a larger study aiming to find out exactly what the differences in CSF flow are in HD.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/0583
Date of REC Opinion
27 Aug 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion