A study of the mechanisms that give rise to vascular disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study of the mechanisms that give rise to vascular disease
IRAS ID
97052
Contact name
Alberto Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
Atherosclerosis is a progressive arterial disease, resulting in the development of fat-rich plaques in artery walls. Plaques that grow may block arteries, or become unstable and rupture, causing blood clots (arterial occlusive disease: AOD). Blockage with blood clot or pieces of clot (emboli) may give rise to conditions such as heart attacks, stroke and limbs with poor blood supply(limb ischaemia)that are a major cause of death and morbidity. Current medical and surgical treatments for AOD carry significant risks of bleeding, increased incidence of stroke and death.
Weakening of the artery wall can also give rise to ballooning (aneurysm) that may rupture and lead to blood loss and death. Aneurysms are surgically treated, but these treatments are expensive or have significant mortality.
A better understanding of the mechanisms that give rise to and propagate arterial occlusion (plaque) or arterial dilatation (aneurysms) would facilitate the development of therapies aimed at preventing plaque or aneurysm development and progression, or biomarkers of disease progression. This may come from blood samples and samples of plaque or aneurysm wall (that are available and normally disposed of during surgery) from which we can analyse the cellular and molecular ‘fingerprints’ of these conditions.
The proposed work is part of an ongoing programme that uses cells in culture and animal models to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms that give rise to disease development and progression. We will therefore request ethical approval for a 5 year project in the first instance and review a possible extension after that time. All tissues obtained will be those normally disposed of during routine surgery. Blood samples will be taken either as an extra amount during routine sampling or as a separate sample.REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1685
Date of REC Opinion
28 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion