Grant: Operating Grant

Stroke is the leading cause of chronic disability and the third most common cause of death in Canada. Death and disability result from the death of brain cells during stroke. It is believed that early treatment can protect brain cells in areas of reduced blood flow from death and improve the recovery of stroke patients. Unfortunately, while many treatments have been proposed, few have been successful in protecting brain cells from death due to stroke in human patients. This grant proposal explores an exciting new technique for saving brain cells during stroke by increasing blood flow to the whole brain. Early evidence suggests this strategy may save brain cells and drastically improve recovery after stroke, but relatively little is known about the effectiveness, mechanisms, and safety of the treatment. We will use animal models of stroke to learn more about the mechanisms and benefits of this procedure to augment cerebral blood flow during stroke. At early time points after the onset of the stroke, animals will undergo the cerebral flow augmentation procedure. The effects of augmentation alone, or combined with drugs that try to break the blood clot to restore blood flow (the only treatment currently used clinically for stroke), will be assessed in the two weeks after stroke. Live animal imaging will be used to assess whether increasing cerebral blood flow can save normal brain function and determine how blood flow is restored to brain tissue. The mechanism of action will be important in order to understand whether flow augmentation can be used in conjunction with current therapies to improve recovery. We will also investigate if increasing blood flow to the brain damages blood vessels that are already injured by stroke and increases the risk of bleeding in the brain after stroke. Our research project will define the mechanisms and efficacy of a completely new method for early treatment of stroke, and ease the transfer of the procedure into human stroke care.