Retrospective CSF analysis in patients with neurodegenerative diseases
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Retrospective CSF analysis in patients with neurodegenerative diseases
IRAS ID
131756
Contact name
Jonathan Mark Schott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research & Development Directorate
Research summary
Over the past 5 years a unique and valuable archive of over 1000 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples has been collected from patients undergoing lumbar puncture examinations as part of their routine clinical care as investigation for suspected neurodegenerative or other diseases, or as part of research under separate ethics, at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. These samples are currently held for the purposes of clinical audit and quality control in accordance with the Royal College of Pathologist Guidelines (http://www.rcpath.org/Resources/RCPath/Migrated%20Resources/Docu ments/G/G035_GuidanceUseofClinicalSamples_Nov12.pdf)on the use of clinical samples.
We seek permission to use these existing samples to establish a research repository of CSF collected from patients with a range of neurodegenerative conditions and other unrelated neurological diseases to allow 1. validation of existing CSF assays, and 2. development of new biomarkers to distinguish neurodegenerative diseases both from one another and from normals. The study design will be to compare the CSF and blood of patients with different neurodegenerative diseases both with each other and with samples from individuals without cognitive impairment. These samples will be analysed using existing commercially available CSF assays as well as novel techniques, funded by new investment in a new CSF laboratory at UCL which provides state of the art facilities for biomarker discovery.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1155
Date of REC Opinion
3 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion