MaGiCAD
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does MaGiCAD
stand for?
2. Who is responsible for MaGiCAD?
3. What will MaGiCAD tell us that we don't already
know?
4. How will this help other heart
disease sufferers?
5. When will the results be available?
6. Can I be kept informed of the outcome?
1. What does MaGiCAD stand for?
MaGiCAD stands for “Metabonomics and Genomics in Coronary Artery Disease” - so it is easy to see why we call it MaGiCAD for short. Metabonomics is the name given to the study of metabolites (molecules such as sugars and fats). Genomics is the name given to the study of genes. MaGiCAD will be one of the first studies in the world to compare these two methods to predict future risk of having a heart attack.
2. Who is responsible for MaGiCAD?
The MaGiCAD study is being run by Papworth Hospital NHS Trust. It is overseen by a management committee with five members: two of the members (Dr. David Grainger and Dr. David Mosedale) are scientists in the University of Cambridge Department of Medicine. Dr. Peter Schofield and Dr. Sarah Clarke are consultant cardiologists at Papworth Hospital. The fifth member of the team, Dr. Hester Goddard, is a Research Officer at the R&D Unit at Papworth Hospital. These scientists have been working together investigating the causes of heart disease for almost a decade.For more details click HERE.
3. What will MaGiCAD tell us that we don't already know?
At present, your risk of developing heart disease was assessed by your doctor using a relatively small number of tests, such as measuring your blood cholesterol levels. MaGiCAD is designed to test whether the use of cutting-edge technology to measure hundreds or even thousands of substances simultaneously can provide a better picture of your heart disease risk. The blood samples you have donated will be analysed using these new techniques and the data will be stored on a large database, together with your answers to the questions we asked you. Of course, your confidentiality is respected throughout this process, and your name is not stored on the database. Finally, we will analyse this vast databank to see whether there are any common patterns that can be identified which are strongly associated with having heart disease.
4. How will this help other heart disease sufferers?
Currently, the first indication that someone has heart disease is often when they suffer a heart attack. If MaGiCAD is successful, we should be able to identify sufferers much earlier, allowing lifestyle changes (such as altering your diet) or medical treatments to start much sooner. For many people, these changes will be sufficient to prevent them from ever having a heart attack.
5. When will the results be available?
The MaGiCAD study is a very large undertaking. We hope to have more than 2,000 patients enrolled, and that will take time. However, the first results from the study should be available within 12 months. Further results from MaGiCAD will probably be released over a 5 year period.
6. Can I be kept informed of the outcome?
Absolutely! Studies such as MaGiCAD would never be possible without the willingness of patients such as yourself to take part. All of the results we obtain will be published in the scientific literature, much of which is available on the web (the keywords MaGiCAD and coronary heart disease should help you find them). However, we will also provide a summary of our findings suitable for non-scientists on the MaGiCAD web-site.