FH-Car v1.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Stratification of patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia by carotid MRI (FH-Car)
IRAS ID
247320
Contact name
Ben Jones
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common genetic condition which affects 1 in 250 people. Due to a faulty gene, people with FH have high levels of cholesterol in the blood, which leads to build up of “plaque” in the blood vessels and increases the chance of heart disease and stroke. In this study, we wish to use MRI scanning of the carotid artery, a blood vessel in the neck, to work out how common plaque build-up is in people with FH, and factors which affect it. In the future, carotid MRI scanning may become a useful way to work out how much plaque somebody has, which could be useful to guide treatments.
We plan to invite people to take part in the study who have been referred to our clinic at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and meet particular diagnostic criteria which suggest they have FH. They will continue with their normal clinic appointments, treatments and tests, but will also have a single carotid MRI scan, and a single extra blood test. These should happen within a month of recruitment. The MRI scan will be used to build a picture of how common plaque is in this group, and what are its characteristics. We ask participants' permission to review results of specific standard tests performed as part of routine clinical care at the lipid clinic, in order to identify factors which influence carotid plaque. The single extra blood test during this study will be used for specialist analysis of “lipoproteins” (cholesterol-carrying proteins in the blood), results of which will also be matched to MRI findings.
After the MRI scan, the study is complete. We may wish to perform similar studies in the future to work out how plaque changes over time, but those studies will be subject to separate approvals.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1801
Date of REC Opinion
9 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion