Development of Adrenal Radio-Tracer (d'ART) for PHA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of Novel Positron Emission Tomography Adrenal Radio-Tracer (d'ART) for Diagnosis and Image Guided Therapy in Patients with Primary Hyperaldosteronism (Conn's syndrome)
IRAS ID
245767
Contact name
Erik Arstad
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCLH/UCL Joint Research Office
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
RA043769/1, UCL data protection registration
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
High blood pressure is a serious medical condition that, over time, causes damage to the heart and blood vessels. If left untreated, it often leads to life threatening conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and dementia. For most people, lifestyle changes and drug treatment return the blood pressure to healthy levels. However, in about 1 out of 10 patients, high blood pressure is caused by too high production of a hormone called aldosterone. This condition, known as primary hyperaldosteronism (PHA), is very difficult to treat; patients will often need to take a number of medications (3-5 drugs) for the rest of their life, and are likely to have reduced life quality. However, for about a quarter of these patients, removal of the gland (adrenal) that produces too much aldosterone can cure the condition, or help reduce the need for medication. Unfortunately, few patients with PHA (about 300 per year in the UK) are offered the chance to be treated with surgery as there are no practical methods to identify those who are likely to benefit.
We have developed a radioactive ‘chemical dye', called radiotracer, for use with an advanced type of medical imaging, known as positron emission tomography (PET). If the radiotracer works, the PET scan will allow to identify the patients who are likely to benefit from surgery, and to determine which adrenal gland to remove.
We aim to investigate how sensitive and specific the radiotracer is in depicting those parts of the adrenal gland that produce too much aldosterone. We will use advanced techniques to observe this. We will use adrenal tissue from patients who have donated their glands for research, including patients with PHA and other adrenal diseases, as well as adrenals from deceased kidney donors (whose family may consent on their behalf).REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0010
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion