Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy in motor neurone disease V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy in motor neurone disease
IRAS ID
277323
Contact name
Christopher McDermott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
21256, STH
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 15 days
Research summary
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a devastating condition affecting the nerves involved in movement which usually results in death within two to three years. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are complex and previous research suggests that abnormalities in the way the body makes energy may be important. Most of the brain energy currency is produced in parts of the body’s cells called mitochondria which work like a powerplant. Mitochondria are also very important because they contribute to how long cells live for. We want to find out whether we can use a special type of brain scan to measure mitochondrial function in MND. This would help us understand how brain energy function relates to MND clinical characteristics and hopefully develop new more accurate ways to assess disease progression in the future.
We plan to recruit 30 patients already enrolled in the TUDCA-ALS trial and use a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans called phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure chemicals in the brain important for energy production. The type of MRI we use is safe and does not require any injections. We will also recruit two healthy volunteers, which is necessary to ensure that brain scan measurements are stable over time. We plan to ask people to come back to determine how brain energy changes over time so that we can better understand disease progression.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/YH/0066
Date of REC Opinion
4 May 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion