7TIB-MND: 7T MRI Imaging Biomarkers in MND
Research type
Research Study
Full title
7T MRI Imaging Pilot-study in Patients with Motor Neuron Disease to identify Non-Invasive Disease Imaging Biomarkers.
IRAS ID
341146
Contact name
George Gorrie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
R&I, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
2024/MNDS/6300/741Full, MND Scotland
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a neurodegenerative disorder, which causes progressive loss of nerve cells controlling the muscles responsible for movement, speech, swallowing and breathing. There are different forms of MND; some more serious with patients dying within a year, and some less severe cases with a life expectancy of several years.
The aim of this research study is to improve the diagnosis of MND and make it faster. At present there is no reliable test to examine the motor nerves in the brain. It is often difficult and can take a long time to get a diagnosis of MND, by which time patients are often already very unwell. Delay in diagnosis can lead to a lack of support and treatments being put off.
We plan to achieve this goal by using advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to develop new diagnostic tests for MND. We will use a scanner with a very strong magnetic field of 7 tesla (7T), which provides images of the brain with increased detail compared to standard MRI scanners, which use magnetic field strengths of 1.5T or 3T. We will use the advanced capability of 7T MRI to identify so-called imaging biomarkers, which are features of the scans that are specific to a particular disease, in this case MND and its different subtypes.
The preliminary findings from this research will be used to design larger follow-on studies aiming to establish a fast and specific diagnosis for patients living with MND. This would lead to a new approach to examine the health of the motor nerves in the brain to complement and enhance current diagnostic approaches. This would allow patients to enter suitable trials faster and would help patients to receive more tailored treatment.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0299
Date of REC Opinion
26 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion