The role of I2BS in Huntington’s disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Imidazoline-2 Binding Site as a novel target in Huntington’s disease: An [11C]BU99008 Positron Emission Tomography study
IRAS ID
201518
Contact name
Marios Politis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Astrocytes are cells in the brain that are activated in response to injury of the neurons and are involved in a process called neuroinflammation. Imidazoline-2 binding sites (I2BS) are expressed during the activation of astrocytes. We have now developed a ligand called [11C]BU99008 which is used together with positron emission tomography (PET) and can measure I2BS in the brain and therefore assess the presence of neuroinflammation in the human brain including in people with Huntington’s disease.
In this study we hypothesize that neuroinflammation is a critical process underlying the development of Huntington’s disease and activation of astrocytes plays a key role. We believe that I2BS will be overexpressed in the brain of people with Huntington’s disease and will reflect substantial activation of astrocytes and therefore neuroinflammation.
Each patient will receive one [11C]BU99008 PET scan and one 3-Tesla MRI scan:
Group A: up to 24 HD patients
Group B: up to 24 aged and gender matched healthy controls.REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0637
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion