Grant: Project Grant

The majority of people who are aging and who have some conditions that affect their brain or spinal cord [stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI) experience continuous changes in blood pressure (BP). The most dangerous of these changes are spikes or chronic elevation in BP known as hypertension and which is identified as a significant risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) health and quality of life of these individuals. Unstable BP damages small blood vessels in the brain and leads to numerous secondary complications, including heart attack, stroke, and cognitive problems. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of disease and death after SCI, which is largely due to dysfunction of autonomic nervous system that regulates blood vessels and heart. Based on the Canada-wide data, we recently demonstrated that people with SCI are at 300-400% increased risk of stroke. This finding was alarming and has led to the realization that improving brain health after SCI is the logical and most critical next step in improving the quality and quantity of life for those with SCI. In this project I plan to apply my expertise in the field of SCI to determine why individuals with SCI experience more strokes and poor cognitive function. First, I will use an animal model to determine how and why the brain and its blood vessels become damaged due to repetitive BP elevations after SCI. Second, I will test the efficacy of cycling exercise as a potential therapy to improve the brain and blood vessel health after SCI. Our ultimate goal is to reduce secondary complications resulting from BP changes and improve the quality and quantity of life for individuals with SCI and other neurological conditions, thereby increasing the generalizability of my research. This project is also aimed at reducing the remarkable burden on the Canadian health care system; where the lifetime health care expenditures are among the most expensive of any condition (i.e. $2.9M for cervical SCI).