Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus SILK
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Stable Isotope Labeling Kinetics in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: implications for neurodegeneration
IRAS ID
251353
Contact name
Ross Paterson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2019/04/113 , UCL Data Protection Registration
Duration of Study in the UK
10 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Researchers and physicians typically measure proteins found in the clear fluid that bathes and protects the brain and spinal cord (cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)) to help them make an accurate diagnosis of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. We believe that the same approaches may be relevant in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), the clinical condition that causes problems with walking, thinking and urination. Treatment for NPH involves an operation (a shunt) to increase CSF drainage from the brain. It is currently not clear why people develop NPH or why some individuals are helped by having CSF drainage and others are not.
The purpose of this study is to examine how quickly proteins are produced and cleared in the central nervous system (CNS) in individuals with NPH. A better understanding of these changes will help researchers understand why NPH occurs and predict who will be helped by treatment.
Improved understanding of how proteins are produced in the brain and removed will help to understand what might go wrong in other diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease).
A new approach has been developed to measure proteins in human CSF. It involves labeling or marking proteins with a special type of an essential amino acid called leucine (hereby referred to as an "isotope"). This is a harmless food supplement which can be given to people in the form of an intravenous drip. For the purposes of this study, UCL are collaborating with Washington University to measure proteins in the human CSF using the approach they have developed.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1256
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion