Validating MRI measures of GABA in comparison to PET.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Multi-modal investigation of GABA receptors in a healthy population: A positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging comparison.
IRAS ID
266540
Contact name
Christopher Marshall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
Participants recruited for this positron emission tomography (PET) imaging study will have already taken part in a separate multi-modal brain-imaging study at Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) known as Wales Advanced Neuroimaging Database (WAND), approved by the appropriate university ethics committee.
WAND is a large-scale multi-modal research study involving data collection with various techniques including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Within WAND, we are specifically investigating variability in the number of chemical messengers within the brain known as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters send messages between neurons (cells). In the WAND study we are interested in one type of neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and have developed non-invasive MRI methods to measure it. GABA is the lead inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, inhibiting information crossing between neurons, and is altered in a number of neurological conditions. Currently, the only method able to reliably quantify the amount of GABA within the brain is PET.
For the PET study we will recruit a sub-set of healthy male participants from WAND between the ages of 18-65years. The purpose of this study is to use 'gold standard' PET measures to compare/validate our MRI measures of GABA within the brain (a method comparison study). By validating and improving our MRI measures, we will be able to remove the requirement for PET imaging in clinical populations, which is invasive (requires ionising radiation injection) and costly. If we can improve and validate the MRI methodology, patients with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions in future will not be required to have a PET scan, and instead have a non-invasive MRI scan which costs less and does not involve an injection of ionising radiation.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1565
Date of REC Opinion
13 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion