Retrospective CSF analysis in patients with neurodegenerative diseases

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Retrospective CSF analysis in patients with neurodegenerative diseases

• IRAS ID

  131756

• Contact name

  Jonathan Mark Schott

• Contact email

  j.schott@ucl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Research & Development Directorate

• Research summary

  Over the past 5 years a unique and valuable archive of over 1000 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples has been collected from patients undergoing lumbar puncture examinations as part of their routine clinical care as investigation for suspected neurodegenerative or other diseases, or as part of research under separate ethics, at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. These samples are currently held for the purposes of clinical audit and quality control in accordance with the Royal College of Pathologist Guidelines (http://www.rcpath.org/Resources/RCPath/Migrated%20Resources/Docu ments/G/G035_GuidanceUseofClinicalSamples_Nov12.pdf)on the use of clinical samples.

  We seek permission to use these existing samples to establish a research repository of CSF collected from patients with a range of neurodegenerative conditions and other unrelated neurological diseases to allow 1. validation of existing CSF assays, and 2. development of new biomarkers to distinguish neurodegenerative diseases both from one another and from normals. The study design will be to compare the CSF and blood of patients with different neurodegenerative diseases both with each other and with samples from individuals without cognitive impairment. These samples will be analysed using existing commercially available CSF assays as well as novel techniques, funded by new investment in a new CSF laboratory at UCL which provides state of the art facilities for biomarker discovery.
  Lay summary of study results: All of the aims and objectives for the study were met.

  The samples – which were already collected and stored and hence did not require the recruitment of new subjects – have been used extensively over the last 15 years to help develop and validate new CSF and plasma assays that are now in clinical use at the Neuroimmunology Laboratory at UCLH. These include CSF measures of A42/40, ptau181 and NfL; and recent developments in plasma biomarkers, notable plasma p-tau217 all of which are available to request in a UKAS accredited laboratory – e.g. see https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftrack.pstmrk.it%2F3ts%2Fwww.uclh.nhs.uk%252Fapplication%252Ffiles%252F2717%252F3799%252F2661%252FNICL_MNG_User_Handbook_v16.17.pdf%2FNBTI%2F3yjDAQ%2FAQ%2Fbcdc8b10-047c-4d76-9f8b-15c27ab33d12%2F1%2FL17atb1VkU&data=05%7C02%7Cqueensquare.rec%40hra.nhs.uk%7C3a350305ab2c471a0dd008de63538377%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C639057407498967541%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0Y5BgWAqnjCD%2B%2Fq%2BDpRsoghQH8QRBYol55jMBXplJ2g%3D&reserved=0
  

• REC name

  London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  13/LO/1155

• Date of REC Opinion

  3 Oct 2013

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion