Identification of novel biomarkers of atherosclerosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identification of novel biomarkers of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
IRAS ID
299071
Contact name
Albert Ferro
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 26 days
Research summary
Atherosclerosis is the process by which fatty deposits within the walls of the arteries cause progressive arterial narrowing. If these deposits fissure or rupture, this can cause thrombosis; in the coronary circulation this can cause a myocardial infarction, whilst in the blood supply to the brain this can cause a stroke.
Risk factors for atherosclerosis include age, male sex, smoking, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. Risk calculators are available which, based on an individual's risk factor profile, can give an estimate of 10-year or lifetime cardiovascular risk. However, although accurate when applied at a population level, these do not give a reliable indication of extent or severity of disease within a given individual, since they can only give a statistical estimate of risk within a given time period. To reliably assess disease in an individual patient, imaging modalities such as CT angiography or MRI scanning are required; however, these are expensive and time-consuming, and some (such as CT) involve significant radiation exposure, so they are not suitable for mass screening clinically in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. There is therefore a need to develop novel non-invasive, simple biomarkers for atherosclerosis which can be easily applied in an outpatient setting or general practice, in order to identify individuals (for example, those with significant risk factor burden but no symptoms) who merit more intensive imaging investigations, so that such individuals can then be targeted for earlier intensive treatment to prevent the complications of atherosclerosis as outlined above.
In this project, we will screen blood samples from patients with cardiovascular risk factors for white blood cell markers of atherosclerosis, and correlate these with atherosclerotic disease burden as assessed by carotid artery ultrasonography.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NE/0189
Date of REC Opinion
20 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion