ACROBAT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of novel magnetic resonance biomarkers in acute and chronic kidney disease and kidney transplant
IRAS ID
271254
Contact name
Eleanor Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Perspectum Diagnostics Ltd
Duration of Study in the UK
8 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common health condition worldwide. Common causes include diabetic kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy, DN). Blood test changes in DN happen late, when irreversible damage has already occurred; treatment is most effective when given early in the course of illness. It is therefore desirable to find ways to identify DN earlier in its course, before damage becomes irreversible. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be a way to do this. This study will recruit patients with and without DN and compare their scan findings.
CKD often requires treatment with a kidney transplant, which improves outcomes as well as quality of life. In the first year after a transplant, deterioration in kidney function can be due to many causes, which require a biopsy to discriminate. Transplant kidney biopsies are invasive and carry risks such as bleeding. MRI may represent a way to reduce the reliance on kidney biopsy in these patients and thus improve their care. This study will recruit patients having transplant biopsies and compare their scan findings.
Kidney biopsies are also used to investigate the cause and guide treatment in acute kidney injury. These biopsies also give information about scarring and inflammation, which can inform prognosis. Inflammation can be patchy and thus missed by biopsy. Imaging the whole kidney, such as with MRI, could add substantially to the information about acute kidney disease. This study will recruit patients having native kidney biopsies and compare their scan findings.
Individual types of MRI have already been shown to give additional information about prognosis in CKD, and about different causes of kidney transplant dysfunction. Combining several different types of MR scan may give more detailed information. This technique has been pioneered in the liver, and is now used in prostate cancer imaging. This study aims to use similar techniques in the kidney.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/SC/0524
Date of REC Opinion
22 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion