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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Matthew
Harding
matt.harding@cpft.nhs.uk
Ms
giovanna
mallucci
gm522@cam.ac.uk
Ms
giovanna
mallucci
gm522@cam.ac.uk
Other degenerative diseases of the nervous system
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A major problem facing doctors and scientists has been that our limited understanding of the processes that cause the death of brain cells in Alzheimer's and related "neurodegenerative" diseases means that no effective treatments exist. Giovanna Mallucci's laboratory has made major inroads into these mechanisms in the last three years. We have discovered a fundamental process, “the UPR”, that causes brain cell death in neurodegenerative diseases, by reducing cerebral protein synthesis rates. When we blocked this process with a drug-like compound in mice with neurodegenerative disease, memory was restored and brain cell death and clinical disease were prevented. In humans, post-mortem studies on the brains of patients with Alzheimer's and related diseases show that this same UPR pathway is also activated.
Our question now is whether the UPR over-activation that is active in mice with neurodegeneration also contributes to brain cell death in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, through reduction of protein synthesis rates.
The aim of this proposal is to see if we can detect this process in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, using a validated technique called PET scanning to measure protein synthesis rates in brain. If we find that these are reduced in Alzheimer's disease (as in the mice), we will have confirmed this is an important pathway in dementia and we will pursue new treatments targeting the UPR to prevent brain cell death and restore memory. A negative result is equally important, giving essential information that will avoid fruitless pursuit of wrong targets for therapy.
Prof Mallucci has assembled a team of experts from the University of Cambridge for this study: Franklin Aigbirhio and Tim Fryer are experts in PET scanning in neurodegenerative disease, and John O’Brien is an old age psychiatrist specialized in clinical research in dementia.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
Type: Imaging;
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
Exclusion criteria for cases with early Alzheimer's disease: 1. Moderate or severe dementia 2. MMSE of 19 or lower 3. Claustrophobia 4. Contraindication to arterial or venous line placement 5. Contraindication to MRI (pacemaker, cochlear implant, nerve stimulator, aneurysm clips or other metal devices) 6. Participant is taking trazodone, dibenzoylmethane, or hydroxydibenzoylmethane For control subjects: 1. Diagnosis of cognitive impairment or dementia 2. MMSE of <27 3. Claustrophobia 4. Contraindication to arterial or venous line placement 5. Contraindication to MRI (pacemaker, cochlear implant, nerve stimulator, aneurysm clips or other metal devices) 6. Participant is taking trazodone, dibenzoylmethane, or hydroxydibenzoylmethane
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
Ms
giovanna
mallucci
gm522@cam.ac.uk
Ms
giovanna
mallucci
gm522@cam.ac.uk
Matthew
Harding
matt.harding@cpft.nhs.uk
The study is sponsored by CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST and funded by European Commission .
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for Trial ID: CPMS 32539
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