A study on the heart-gut-immune axis in cardiac cachexia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A novel study to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in cardiac cachexia
IRAS ID
335262
Contact name
Owais Dar
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals (part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust)
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 29 days
Research summary
Cardiac cachexia is a complex condition associated with heart failure (when the heart is not pumping normally, causing symptoms such as breathlessness and leg swelling). There is general loss of muscle with or without loss of fat. The main feature of cardiac cachexia is unintentional weight loss in adults. The reason why it develops is poorly understood currently. Importantly, some studies have shown that cardiac cachexia is more likely to lead to poorer outcomes (such as death) in the patients who develop it. We suspect that in advanced heart failure (those patients with very weak hearts), cardiac cachexia is both more common and leads to even poorer outcomes.
There are still a number of questions regarding how cardiac cachexia develops in the first place. We are hoping to try to understand why the condition develops better in advanced heart failure.
In this study, we will take advanced heart failure patients with and without cardiac cachexia, and run a series of tests to help us to answer this question. Specifically, we want to look at how changes to hormones released by the gut, bacterial species and breakdown products that form within the gut itself, and changes to the immune system may contribute to the development of cardiac cachexia in advanced heart failure. We will also run these same tests in a small group of healthy volunteers.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/0437
Date of REC Opinion
23 May 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion