Demyelinating Research Tissue Bank

• Research type

  Research Tissue Bank

• IRAS ID

  296287

• Research summary

  Tissue for the study of demyelinating conditions: clinical, genetic and immunological studies.

• REC name

  South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  21/SC/0353

• Date of REC Opinion

  10 Nov 2021

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion

• Data collection arrangements

  Samples may include blood to extract DNA, blood cells and serum, urine, cerebral spinal fluid, plasma and tissue from surplus samples obtained from therapeutic operations or diagnostic biopsies.
  Clinical data includes gender, age at onset, past medical history, clinical features, working diagnosis, results of diagnostic tests, clinical course and response to treatment (primarily from clinical notes).
  Additional demographic and clinical information, including ethnicity data, lifestyle factors, past medical history and family history will be collected via a questionnaire.
  All data will be entered onto an electronic database via an NHS password protected computer. Data will be encrypted and stored securely, and only accessible by the NMO and MS teams and authorised personnel.
  An identifier code will be given to each patient and information/sample log, which will be used to label the sample/tissue too.
  Patients will be given a Patient Information Sheet to read and will be offered sufficient time before consenting. In many cases, and for convenience of the patient, this will be done on the day they attend clinic. Extra blood and urine samples may be requested but are not necessary for inclusion in the tissue bank. Consent may also be obtained by post following telephone discussion.

• Research programme

  The Neurosciences Group, including the neuroimmunology laboratory, is a world-renowned centre for the study of neurological autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Myasthenia Gravis (MG), Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD) and encephalitis. The neuroimmunology laboratory is a world leader in autoantibody identification and diagnostic assays for several neurological diseases. We have close collaborators who work on those rare neurological disorders in well-established and important laboratories in the UK, European countries, USA and Japan. The Demyelinating Research Tissue Bank at Oxford aims to understand more about MS and NMOSD and related neurological diseases caused by a problem with the immune system. The tissue bank stores and uses tissue samples that have been collected from patients for use in diagnosis or for medical reasons, as well as clinical details, MRI scans and test results for various research studies. Improving the understanding of demyelinating conditions will help doctors to diagnose, treat and monitor patients more accurately. We have used patient’s clinical information (with identifying details anonymised) in many different projects around the world to help answer questions about the course of these diseases, how they respond to treatment and what influences their severity.

• Storage license

  12433

• RTBTitle

  Tissue for the study of demyelinating conditions: clinical, genetic and immunological studies.

• Establishment organisation

  Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Establishment organisation address

  John Radcliffe Hospital

  Headley Way, Oxford

  OX3 9DU