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NCT04012411Recruiting

Study of BDNF Pathway Biomarkers in the Cerebrospinal Fluid in Patients With Huntington's Disease

Study of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Pathway Biomarkers in the Cerebrospinal Fluid in Patients With Huntington's Disease

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 12 Feb 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

Huntington disease (HD, 1.3/10 000) is an autosomal dominant disease due to an abnormal expansion of CAG triplets in HTT gene. Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been evoked, including an alteration of the signaling pathway of the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a neurotrophic factor involved in the survival of neurons (striatal and hippocampal) and synaptic plasticity. BDNF is synthesized at the level of cortical neurons and transported, through the axonal transport in which the Htt is involved, to the nerve endings; it's then secreted in response to excitatory synaptic activity, especially at the level of glutamatergic synapses. Besides, at the postsynaptic level it binds with great specificity to TrkB receptors (tropomyosin-related kinase receptors B) with a neuroprotective effect on dendritic and axonal growth and an increase in synaptic plasticity, especially at the level of the striatum and the hippocampus. BDNF is decreased in the brain of animal models, as well as in patients with HD; the alteration of this pathway would occur in the early stages of the disease. In the context of concomitant multiple treatments, the BNDF pathway may be one of the therapeutic targets of HD. Moreover, in HD it remains essential to detect biological markers representative of the different pathogenic pathways that can be tested in vivo in humans to confirm the hypotheses developed at the level of basic research; these biomarkers could subsequently become biomarkers of disease progression and/or biomarkers of therapeutic efficacy of potential targeted treatments. Therefore, this study aims to characterize potential biomarkers of the BNDF pathway in plasma and CSF in subjects with HD and to confirm the importance of this pathogenic mechanism in vivo in humans.

Status (registry)
Recruiting
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
135 (estimated)
First submitted
4 Jul 2019
Start date
3 Mar 2020
Primary completion date
Sept 2027
Lead sponsor
University Hospital, Montpellier
NCT number
NCT04012411

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional
  • Planned participants: 135
  • From 3 Mar 2020 to the primary completion date, Sept 2027
  • 1 site in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Other illness

  • Patients exclusion criteria:
    • Huntington's disease stage too Evolved that may interfere with cognitive evaluations or MRI
    • contraindications to brain MRI
    • only for patients "with LP": contraindications to LP
    • incapacity to give informed consent

Other

  • General exclusion criteria:
    • protected by law
  • Control exclusion criteria:
    • neurodegenerative of inflammatory central nervous system pathology

Who the study is looking for

  • General inclusion criteria:
    • age ≥ 18 years-old
    • national health insurance cover
  • Patients inclusion criteria:
    • genetically confirmed Huntington's disease diagnosis (≥ 35 CAG repeat in HTT gene exon 1)
    • written informed consent
    • only for patients "with lumbar puncture (LP)": patient agreement for LP
  • Control inclusion criteria:
    • anterior LP for medical reason with consent for biobank "Neuro" with following samples present in this biobank : 2 mL blood + 0.5 mL plasma + 0.5 mL cerebrospinal fluid
    • information and non-opposition for the finality of this biobank
    • paired by age with a patient (+/- 5 years difference)

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
University Hospital of Montpellier
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
MontpellierFranceRecruiting

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.