CADASIL

We have a particular interest in CADASIL at St George's. We run a dedicated CADASIL clinic and offer genetic testing. We also have a research programme on CADASIL. We are always keen to see patients with CADASIL from the UK.

A new treatment for memory problems in CADASIL
We are currently carrying out a study to see whether a drug called Donepezil is helpful in patients who have CADASIL who suffer memory problems.This drug has been used to treat memory problems in patients with Alzheimers Disease and we hope that it may also help CADASIL patients.

The study is a double-blind randomised trial, i.e. patients who enter have a 50:50 chance of being given Donepezil or a dummy drug (called placebo).The study lasts 18 weeks and would involve attending St George's on four occasions during the time.It is only suitable for patients who have a definite diagnosis of CADASIL and who also are experiencing some memory or other cognitive problem.

We are looking for patients for this study.However, patients can only enter the study after they have been referred to the CADASIL clinic at St Georges.This can be done either via the patient’s general practitioner,  or via the hospital consultant.The address for referrals is:-

Professor Hugh Markus
Department of Neurology
St George's Healthcare NHS Trust
Blackshaw Road
Tooting
London
SW17 0QT
Tel:020 8725 2470

Results
The results from our UK CADASIL study have been published in the journal Brain
They demonstrate that it is important to control general factors causing stroke, and in particular not smoke. If you have CADASIL and smoke you are likely to suffer stroke at a younger age. The full paper can be accessed here.