Endovascular therapeutics to complement existing chemical and mechanical clot busting

Robert J. Singer
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology
Neurovascular Therapeutics (Adult and Pediatric)
Department of Neurological Surgery
1161 21st Avenue South, T-4224 Medical Center North
615-322-1053 (office)
615-943-7650 (cell)

615-343-8104 (fax)

robert.singer@vanderbilt.edu

http://VanderbiltB3.com

http://www.childrenshospital.vanderbilt.org/neurovascular

Current stroke treatments focus on restoring blood flow to ischemic regions of the brain. When reperfusion occurs, however, hypoxia-induced changes at the cellular level put patients at a high risk for adverse events such as hemorrhage and edema. As of yet, there is no approved treatment for addressing the problems associated with reperfusion. One aim of the J.B. Marshall Laboratory for Neurovascular Therapeutics is to develop protective endovascular therapeutics to complement existing chemical and mechanical clot busting.

The J.B. Marshall Lab is also interested in opening the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to deliver therapies to the brain. By discriminately blocking agents based on size, charge and solubility, the BBB poses a challenge to both scientific investigation in the brain and the treatment of neurological diseases. Blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) seeks to safely and effectively open the BBB. Neuwelt and others in the BBBD Team at Oregon Health Sciences University have pioneered such a technique in animals and humans, thus opening an avenue for translational research into the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to treat malignant brain tumors and the delivery of drugs to functional CNS diseases.