WARN-ReDD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
WARN-ReDD: Early Warning of Relapse in Demyelinating Disease
IRAS ID
317405
Contact name
Daniel Griffiths-King
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Aston University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Acquired Demyelinating Syndromes (ADS) are single or initial demyelinating events of presumed inflammatory and immune-mediated origin, where myelin, the protective coating on neurons, is attacked and damaged, impairing neuronal communication. ADS includes diseases such as myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) and can indicate the onset of chronic diseases like pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS).
Demyelinating diseases can therefore have catastrophic effects on brain health; affected children are 3.5 times more likely to suffer from mental health problems and 1 in 3 patients will experience recurrent brain damage from return of their disease.
Monitoring brain health in these patients is currently achieved through clinic visits with their Doctor, scans of their brain and checking for specific markers in their blood. However, these methods for assessing new or ongoing disease-activity have drawbacks; they are infrequent, may miss subtle changes in brain health (such as depression or anxiety) and can be invasive (such as taking blood samples). This makes it challenging to detect changes early and provide timely treatment.
This project proposes a new way to measure disease activity in these patients – digital monitoring of psychological symptoms via a mobile app. This will allow real-time, remote, non-invasive, and frequent monitoring.
Changes in psychological symptoms, such as mood and anxiety, are related to brain inflammation detectable on MRI and often precede relapses. This pilot project will test whether psychological symptoms, (i.e. mood, cognitive disturbances), are potential warning signs of disease activity or future attacks.
The project aims to:
• Measure long-term changes and fluctuations in psychological symptoms.
• Assess their relationship with disease outcomes.
• Test whether symptoms like mood and cognitive disturbances can predict disease activity or future attacks.
This novel digital health monitoring approach will transform the medical management of demyelinating diseases. It offers an easy, repeatable, and child-optimized method, potentially improving early detection and treatment.REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0718
Date of REC Opinion
7 Nov 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion