Monitoring Oxidative Stress in Acute Coronary Syndrome

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Development and application of a high throughput assay for monitoring oxidative stress in acute coronary syndrome

  • IRAS ID

    189016

  • Contact name

    Angela Doughty

  • Contact email

    a.doughty@nhs.net

  • Sponsor organisation

    NIHR Clinical Research Network: West Midlands

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 9 months, 11 days

  • Research summary

    Coronary (heart) artery disease (CAD) is a major health burden in the UK, around 700,000 patients present annually with chest pain in England and Wales and approximately 350,000 of these cases are linked to emergency chest pain admissions. Coronary artery disease occurs when the blood vessels that supply the heart progressively become narrowed (atherosclerosis) and blocked. This results in oxygen failing to reach the heart muscle causing a heart attack.
    The mortality rate associated with a heart attack is high, early detection is paramount so that correct treatment can be administered. The current ‘gold-standard’ for diagnosis involves measuring compounds which are released from the heart muscle into the blood following heart attack (cardiac markers). However, many cardiac markers are only detectible several hours, or even days, following a heart attack. During this period, the condition may worsen and further damage to the heart may lead to an unfavourable prognosis. Thus there is need to validate new robust markers that may be detected in a quicker timeframe.
    A promising candidate for this is a compound known as allantoin. However, current methods of detection are unsustainable and the clinical utility for routine screening for cardiovascular disease is unknown. Moreover, the time-frame of detection leading up to and following a heart attack is poorly understood. Thus this project seeks to:
    a) Develop and optimise a cost effective high throughput test to measure allantoin.
    b) Monitor patient allantoin levels over a given timeframe leading to and following heart attack.
    c) Validate the clinical utility of this test for cardiovascular disease patients against the current ‘gold-standard’.

  • REC name

    West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    17/WM/0132

  • Date of REC Opinion

    26 May 2017

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion