Investigation on the role of apoptosis in aneurysm rupture

Project location: Italy
Project start date: September 2001 - Project end date: September 2002
Project number: 2001-13
Beneficiary: ATENA Onlus

Cerebro-vascular diseases represent one of the most relevant causes of mortality. About one-quarter of cerebro-vascular diseases are caused by ruptured intra-cranical aneurysms.
As soon as an aneurysm has been diagnosed, the patient has to be operated even in cases which the haemorrhage will never occur.

The Nando Peretti Foundation together with ATENA is co-financing a research project with the purpose to identify the out-breaking factors that cause the haemorrhage.
Prof. Giulio Maira, chief of the project and chairman of the Neuro-Surgery Department of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Policlinico Gemelli) hypothesized that apoptosis (programmed cell death) could play a role in aneurysm rupture.
In this case it will be possible, by a simple analysis on a vein, to preview exactly if an aneurysm will degenerate into a haemorrhage or not, influencing consequently surgical decisions.

think global, act local
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