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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.
Prof
Erik
Arstad
+44 (0)20 7679 2344
Uclh.randd@nhs.net
Mr
Rob
Shortman
-
robertshortman@nhs.net
Aldosterone producing adenoma
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One of the most common causes of high blood pressure is primary hyperaldosteronism (PHA), a hormonal disorder that leads to overproduction of a hormone called aldosterone. Aldosterone usually balances sodium and potassium in the blood, however when too much of this hormone is produced more potassium is lost but the body retains the sodium. This imbalance can cause your body to hold too much water which in turn leads to a greater volume of blood and ultimately increased blood pressure.
One of the causes of PHA is a non-cancerous tumour that grows on the gland that produces aldosterone In these cases surgery to remove these glands can substantially reduce blood pressure and medication requirements and may result in a complete cure (30-60% of cases).
Currently, methods of diagnosis for this tumour are inefficient and often inconclusive; screening, such as CT scans and adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is used. AVS is challenging, invasive, has a poor success rate and is often not feasible as it requires patients with high blood pressure to stop medication for several weeks.
We have developed a molecule that will target an enzyme which acts as the main regulator of aldosterone secretion. It is labelled with a radioactive substance that Is regularly used in PET scanning. Patients with increased levels of this enzyme from the adrenal glands should absorb more of the molecule. As the molecule is radioactive, this will be detected by a Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scanner and can be viewed by a radiologist.
We have trialled this in animals and found that the radiolabelled substance does target expression of the correct enzyme and can be given in quantities that should not be harmful to humans.
We would like to use this tracer in patients that have an aldosterone producing tumour, to illustrate this effect in humans, and as the patients will go on to have surgery we can examine the adrenal tissue that has been removed to confirm that enzyme expression is related to uptake of the tracer.
Study Aims
1. To measure aldosterone synthase (the enzyme known as CYP11B2) levels in vivo
2. To make a preliminary analysis of the relationship between aldosterone production in vivo (as determined by adrenal vein sampling) and levels of aldosterone synthase (measured with PET).
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:
2023 Abstract results in https://www.doi.org/10.1530/endoabs.94.OC5.3 Society for Endocrinology BES 2023 (added 11/04/2024)
You can take part if:
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Inability to understand, or insufficient capacity to give informed consent.
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The study is sponsored by University College London and funded by Medical Research Council.
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Or CPMS 49883
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