Brain immunity in Tourette
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Blood-derived dendritic cells and brain metabolism in Tourette syndrome
IRAS ID
216892
Contact name
Mark J Edwards
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St Georges University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset tic disorder associated with abnormal development of brain networks involved in the selection of voluntary movements. The causes and mechanisms leading to tics are not fully understood, and involve complex interactions between the individual’s genetic make-up and environmental factors. There is evidence of persistently increased activation of immune-inflammatory responses in TS patients, both in the periphery and within brain networks associated with the production of tics. These immune mechanisms could influence the severity of tics and associated behaviours, therefore representing potential future treatment targets. However, the link between immune responses in the periphery and metabolic changes related to inflammatory processes occurring in tic-relevant brain regions has never been studied.
This research will measure the frequency in circulating blood of subsets of an immune cell type, called dendritic cells, that are crucial for the organization of immune responses to pathogens and autoimmune responses. We will also evaluate if the frequency of dendritic cell subsets correlates with the concentration of brain metabolites (mainly, myoinositol and total choline) that are typically raised during inflammatory responses in the brain. This will be the first study comparing in vivo markers of peripheral and brain immune-inflammatory responses in TS patients and age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers.
We will recruit 25 patients with TS identified from the TS outpatient clinic in St. George’s Unversity Hospital, and 25 healthy volunteers identified amongst patients’ friends or spouses, and hospital/university staff. We will collect demographic and clinical information from all participants, who will subsequently undergo venous blood collection and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scanning. The frequency of dendritic cell subsets will be correlated with the concentrations of myoinositol, total choline and other metabolites measured by MRS, as well as with the severity of tics and related behaviours (obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anxiety and depressive symptoms).
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0141
Date of REC Opinion
31 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion