Neuropsychiatric disorders in neurodegenerative disease kindred's

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Patterns of behaviour and personality in people with neurodegenerative diseases and their family members

• IRAS ID

  192845

• Contact name

  Caroline McHutchison

• Contact email

  Caroline.McHutchison@ed.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Edinburgh

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  PhD Subgrant of MRC funder's reference number, R43054

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 6 months, 28 days

• Research summary

  Motor neurone disease (MND) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with muscle wasting and weakness. This is due to degeneration of areas in the brain that are responsible for movement. Changes in behaviour are common in MND. These include increased apathy, disinhibition, loss of sympathy/empathy and changes in the processing and storage of information about other people and social interactions (social cognition). These changes are similar to those seen in other psychiatric disorders including psychosis, anxiety and autism. Recent research has shown that relatives of MND patients have a higher rate of psychosis and suicide. This may indicate that certain families are more vulnerable to both psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

  This study aims to:
  - Investigate whether there are higher frequencies of neuropsychiatric disorders in people living with MND and their family compared to the general population.
  - If so, do the patterns of neuropsychiatric disorders relate to particular patterns of behavioural and personality change or clinical characteristics associated with MND.

  This is a collaborative study between Edinburgh, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland. In the UK, 60 people living with MND and 60 healthy controls will be recruited along with as many of their first and second degree relatives as possible. A detailed family history of diseases will be collected followed by a series of questionnaires measuring symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders. This will be completed in person, via mail out or online. Where possible, cognitive data will also be collected and a spouse/partner/close friend will be invited to provide information on the participant's behaviour in a semi-structured interview.

• REC name

  West of Scotland REC 4

• REC reference

  16/WS/0058

• Date of REC Opinion

  30 Mar 2016

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion