Amino Acid levels in sarcoidosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Increased circulating levels of amino acids contribute to the development of sarcoidosis.
IRAS ID
358253
Contact name
Angeliki Asimaki
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City St George's, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Diagnosing sarcoidosis presents several challenges due to its diverse and often non-specific presentations, the lack of a single definitive diagnostic test, and the difficulty in excluding other potential causes. Furthermore, the disease's varying progression, adds to the diagnostic and treatment complexities.
Our pilot work suggests that abnormally high levels of certain amino acids may be the triggering factor for the development of sarcoidosis in a subset of patients. Our hypothesis would require measurements of amino acids levels in the serum of patients with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. If our hypothesis is confirmed, it suggests the possibility of improving our current diagnostic efficiency, disease sub-type classification, and direct management plans with a simple blood test.
We propose to obtain blood samples from 20 patients with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Individuals will be recruited by their regular medical care provider (Dr Nesan Shanmugan, head of sarcoidosis clinic at St George’s Hospital). Once they have read the information sheet and understood the process entirely, if they agree to participate, they will sign the informed consent form, a copy of which they will get to keep.
A phlebotomist or a research nurse will then obtain a blood sample during one of their regular hospital appointments. Dr Asimaki will centrifuge the blood sample, isolate the serum component and store the samples in a -20 degrees freezer at her laboratory at CSGUL until the end of the recruitment.
Once all samples have been collected, they will be transferred to King's College Hospital where they will be subjected to a chromatography-based amino acid assay. The chromatography results will be sent to Dr Asimaki along with the available control reference values for each amino acid. Dr Asimaki will then establish whether one or more amino acid levels are significantly beyond the control values.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SC/0222
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion