The Mild Stroke Study 3

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Studies of Small Vessel Diseases: the Mild Stroke Study 3 (MSS-3)

• IRAS ID

  235737

• Contact name

  Joanna Wardlaw

• Contact email

  joanna.wardlaw@ed.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Edinburgh

• Duration of Study in the UK

  5 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Cerebral small vessel diseases (SVDs) are a major cause of stroke and dementia. There is no proven treatment. Research points to a poorly understood intrinsic disorder of the small vessels in the brain which causes damage to the brain.
  This damage is easy to see on brain scans and is thought to be permanent. However we and others have recently found that some areas of damage can disappear whereas other areas get worse, but the reasons for this are not clear. SVD damage leads to dementia and stroke, so preventing or even reversing the damage is very important and raises hope for prevention or even cure.
  The Mild Stroke Study 3 (MSS-3) aims to assess factors that affect brain small vessel dysfunction, how this damages the brain, whether the effects are permanent or can resolve. We will also look for associated factors, and whether some individuals are more vulnerable than others to the effects of small vessel dysfunction, for example due to having less resilient white matter structure.
  We will recruit participants who have suffered a minor stroke due to SVD (lacunar ischaemic stroke), or who present with minor non-lacunar ischaemic stroke. The patients with non-lacunar stroke will act as a control for the patients with lacunar stroke since typically they are prescribed the same medications and have a similar risk factor profile: all patients will also be categorised by the burden of SVD on MRI. We will use MRI to assess the extent to which SVD lesions can change over time, the integrity of the white and grey matter, small vessel blood flow and function and blood-brain barrier leakage, in addition to taking more detailed information about medical and lifestyle factors that may influence small vessel health, to understand how small vessel dysfunction and SVD lesion development are related to the clinical, cognitive and physical features of SVD.

• REC name

  South East Scotland REC 01

• REC reference

  18/SS/0044

• Date of REC Opinion

  30 May 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion