Establishing RT-QuIC assay as a diagnostic technique in RBD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Establishing alpha-synuclein Real Time - Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay as a diagnostic technique in REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD)
IRAS ID
269574
Contact name
Renata Riha
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
ACCORD
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN32474552
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
R83853, Research Reference Number (Edinburgh Research Office)
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD) is a sleep disorder characterised by acting violent acting-out of dreams during REM sleep, which can result in injury to the patient or their bed partner. Previous studies have shown that the most, but not all, people with RBD go on to develop a condition called a α-synucleinopathy, which is caused by build-up of an abnormal protein called α-synuclein. This includes Parkinson’s disease (PD), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
There are 2 types of RBD: prodromal (pRBD), which develops into α-synucleinopathy over time, and idiopathic RBD (iRBD), which does not. RBD develops, on average, 11 years prior to PD symptoms, and so presents an opportunity for early detection and treatment of PD.
This study aims to assess the utility of a novel diagnostic test, RT-QuIC, to assess α-synuclein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with RBD. It is hoped that this will allow us to tell which patients have pRBD (and so are at risk of developing PD) and which have iRBD.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
20/ES/0032
Date of REC Opinion
23 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion