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Patient Recruitment Centres launch Lipoprotein screening study for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

Doctor-listening-to-patient-heart-stethoscope

A new Cardiovascular study has opened across all five of the NIHR Patient Recruitment Centres (PRCs); Blackpool, Bradford, Exeter, Leicester and Newcastle. The study is investigating the effect of Lipoprotein Lp(a) in patients with known Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD).

The commercial screening study, will investigate the levels of Lp(a), a protein which transports cholesterol in the blood

Until recently, the role of Lp(a) was not well understood and therefore it is not routinely tested for in clinical practice. High levels of Lp(a) in the blood have been linked to an increased risk in ASCVD and ASCVD events, such as heart attacks or aortic stenosis (a narrowing of the aortic valve opening).

The PRCs are five of 73 sites across England taking part in the study. The PRCs are tasked with recruiting a third (500) of the total recruitment target of 1500 participants..

The study is seeking participants aged between 18-80 who suffer from ASCVD and have a documented history of Myocardial Infarction (heart attacks) or have undergone a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (a non-surgical procedure used to treat narrowing of the coronary arteries of the heart).

Dr Gavin Galasko, Clinical Director of PRC: Blackpool said:

“This is the thirteenth clinical trial on Cardiovascular Disease run at the PRCs in the past two years. Our ability to continue to attract commercial studies in this area is testament to the leading expertise within the team and our ability to successfully recruit participants.

“Contributing to a large-scale study, such as this, demonstrates the PRCs ability to rapidly scale up operations and recruit at pace. Cardiovascular Disease has a huge impact on a patient's life and better understanding the role of elevated Lp(a) in patients with ASCVD can help shape future care for these patients.”

The five PRCs are the first family of NIHR-funded research facilities that are 100% dedicated to delivering commercial research. They are purpose-designed to increase the UK’s capacity to deliver large scale, late-phase commercial clinical trials and to make it easier and quicker to deliver commercial research in our NHS and wider care settings.

Learn more about the expertise across the PRCs.