Molecular Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis (MIMS) v1.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Molecular Imaging of Tissue Structure and Metabolism In Multiple Sclerosis
IRAS ID
166097
Contact name
Ferdia Gallagher
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative condition of the nervous system, where the body's protective immune system attacks the tissue in both the brain and the spinal chord. Changes in the tissue, and its ability to make energy, occur during the destruction of tissue, and inflammation that is associated with MS. These include alterations in cell size, with an associated change in tissue sodium, and elevation in tissue lactate (a by product of consuming sugar without enough oxygen present).
Using a technique termed dynamic nuclear hyperpolarization (DNP), it is possible to increase the signal-to-noise in carbon-MRI by more than 10,000 fold, where the normal signal is very limited. Pyruvate, the breakdown product of glucose (sugar), can be polarised using DNP, and its metabolism into lactate can be imaged within tissue using 13C-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (13C-MRSI). The imaging of hyperpolarized 13C-lactate can help our understanding of energy production in MS and could be used to determine when patients are responding to therapy.
Sodium-MRI measures tissue sodium and, as the concentration of sodium is higher outside the cell than inside, changes in cell position and their structure can be reflected in the overall Sodium-MRI images. We will use these techniques, in conjunction with standard proton MR imaging (1H-MRI), to study the metabolism, structure and natural history of MS plaque in patients with acute disease.This study will last 2 years.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0255
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion