DTI in AS

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    To identify microstructural predictors of impaired remodelling in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis

  • IRAS ID

    350696

  • Contact name

    Erica Dall’Armellina

  • Contact email

    e.dallarmellina@leeds.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Leeds

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    25/PR/1271, PR Committee

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    8 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a test which produces detailed pictures of the participants internal organs by putting them within a strong magnetic field. MRI allows us to detect abnormalities in many organs in the human body with a very high sensitivity. Importantly, MRI is a safe test and does not use any harmful radiation. It is therefore increasingly used test in many areas of medicine with over 100,000 MRI scans performed in the NHS every year.
    Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an additional part of the MRI scan that is used to assess how water moves across the heart muscle. We would like to use DTI to show how the heart changes in a condition called aortic stenosis (AS). AS is caused by progressive narrowing of one of the valves in the heart and is the third most common cardiac disease.
    By doing this research, we hope to be able to understand AS and the effects on the heart muscle and establish cut offs for DTI markers. We hope that exploring this technique in more detail will allow us to further understand AS, be able to add information to help with surveillance of patients and understand factors of progression of the disease. We will also be analysing extracted cardiac muscle tissue in those patients with severe disease who go on to have an aortic valve replacement. This may provide beneficial histological data on AS and allow us to further understand the relationship between DTI and histology at a microscopic level. Participants who have mild, moderate and severe AS will be included in the study. The study period will be over 3 years at Leeds general infirmary in the advanced imaging centre. Follow up period will be 5 years.

  • REC name

    South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    25/SC/0309

  • Date of REC Opinion

    14 Oct 2025

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion