Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Intracerebral hemorrhage is a devastating stroke in which blood vessels rupture and there is bleeding in the brain tissue. This type of stroke has a high mortality rate and many complications as a result of the bleed. One of the complications is that the pressure inside the skull (intracranial pressure) becomes too high due to the injury. This high pressure can cause death due to the brain being forced out of the base of the skull. To compensate for high pressure, the brain can reduce the amount of blood and cerebrospinal fluid it produces, but this compensation mechanism often isn't enough after large bleeds. We recently found that in rats, this high pressure may be causing brain cells to decrease volume as another way to compensate. In this project, I will determine if human brain cells reduce volume after severe stroke when intracranial pressure is high. If they do, we may be able to augment this process or reduce any unwanted side effects. If they don't, further animal studies may determine a method for inducing these volume decreases to reduce pressure and save lives. Next, I will examine the effects of sex and age on cell volume decreases after inducing an intracerebral hemorrhage in rats, which will help us interpret clinical data and determine mechanisms. Finally, I will investigate the activation of ion channels and movement of ions, a potential mechanism of cell volume decreases. These studies will answer fundamental questions about a potentially life-saving mechanism of brain cells after intracerebral hemorrhage.