hMRI in Alzheimer’s Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Non-Invasive In-Vivo Histology in Alzheimer’s disease Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
IRAS ID
225519
Contact name
Nick Fox
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
UCL Data Protection Registration , Z6364106/2017/11/39
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is an atypical variant of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) characterised by early involvement of vision and parietal function(Tang-wai, 2008). In PCA and other forms of AD, neurodegeneration spreads slowly and predictably across the cortex over time, affecting mostly the visual cortex in the early stages (Kennedy et al., 2012). AD and PCA show layer-specific degeneration and microscopic differences based on deposits of abnormal disease-specific proteins in tissue (e.g, amyloid; (Hof, Vogt, Bouras, & Morrison, 1997; Rogers & Morrison, 1985)).
We hypothesize that hMRI will identify the typical large scale patterns of neurodegeneration but also the layer-specific degeneration. Importantly, the extended unified tissue model is expected to detect amyloid plaques and their layer-specific distribution, which are the hallmarks of AD. Furthermore, hMRI is expected to be in keeping with the results of comprehensive clinical assessments and alternative biomarkers such as PET amyloid imaging.
REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0455
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion