Cerebrovascular Research

Basic Science Research

Laboratory research for cerebrovascular disorders is aimed at understanding the mechanisms of injury and functional recovery following cerebral ischemia (stroke) and the pathophysiology of arteriovenous malformations. Investigators are also looking at gene therapy strategies to increase the sensitivity of arteriovenous malformations to treatment with radiation.

 

The Department of Neurological Surgery is also part of the UCSF Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Study, which tracks treatment results and patient outcomes. This study is part of the UCSF Center of Excellence in Patient Research project for hemorrhagic diseases of the brain, a prospective registry of common forms of hemorrhagic brain disorders.

 

Clinical Research

Clinical cerebrovascular research within the Department of Neurological Surgery is done in collaboration with the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care and the Center for Cerebrovascular Research (CCR). The CCR is a multi-disciplinary group of investigators conducting a wide range of research aimed at directly improving clinical outcomes and care for patients with cerebrovascular disorders. Current projects include:

• Epidemiology and clinical course of brain arteriovenous malformations, including studies to relate angioarchitectural and genetic variation to risk of spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage.

• Risk stratification algorithms for predicting surgical outcomes

• Vascular biology of cerebrovascular malformations

• Development of clinically relevant animal models of cerebrovascular disorders:

       ⋅ Animal models combining viral transfection with growth factors to simulate certain aspects of arteriovenous malformations

       ⋅ Animal models of intracranial aneurysms used to study the influence of inflammatory pathways on lesion progression.