Study IDs New Cause of Brain Bleeding Immediately After Stroke

Researchers at University of California (UC) Irvine and the Salk Institute have discovered a new mechanism that allows blood to enter the brain immediately after a stroke. While observing that blood-brain barrier function is rapidly impaired after a stroke (within six hours), they unexpectedly found that this early barrier failure is not due to the breakdown of tight junctions between blood vessel cells, and in fact, junction deterioration did not occur until two days after the event. Instead, the researchers discovered dramatic increases in  serum albumin flowing directly into brain tissue. “These findings suggest new therapeutic directions aimed at regulating flow through endothelial cells in the barrier after a stroke occurs,” said Dritan Agalliu, assistant professor of developmental & cell biology at UC Irvine, “and any such therapies have the potential to reduce or prevent stroke-induced damage in the brain.” To learn more about the study, click here.