Giuseppe Lanzino, M.D.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is the most deadly kind of stroke. Each year, 40,000 Americans have SAH. Case-fatality approaches 60% and more than half of those who die do so before reaching the hospital. Most commonly, SAH results from rupture of an intracranial aneurysm. Screening high-risk individuals could identify those at greatest risk and decrease the devastating effect of SAH. Aortic Aneurysm also constitutes a major public health problem with high lethality. Current estimates are that ruptured aortic aneurysm kills 13,000 Americans each year. Screening efforts have effectively lowered mortality from aortic aneurysm rupture but a high proportion of those who die did not have a diagnosis of aortic aneurysm prior to rupture.

The relationship between intracranial and aortic aneurysm has long been recognized, but poorly quantified. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide a molecular biological evidence for a shared pathophysiology. The chromosome 9p21 locus confers increased risk for both intracranial aneurysms and aortic aneurysms. These GWAS data, along with linkage data for other susceptibility loci, indicate that individuals and families harboring one type of aneurysm may be at especially increased risk of the other.

The rationale for this project is that opportunistic screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) may be warranted in patients who present with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. This study is meant to see if the yield of screening in this population is too low to justify its routine use. The investigators plan to systematically screen for AAA in all cases of aSAH presenting to MCH for treatment. If no individual out of 81 consecutively screened cases of aSAH has evidence of AAA, then the investigators can have strong confidence that there is a less than 5% chance of finding an AAA in the patient population.

We aim to determine whether cognitive impairment attributable to cerebral hemodynamic impairment in patients with high-grade asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis is reversible with restoration of flow. To accomplish this aim CREST-H will add on to the NINDS-sponsored CREST-2 trial (parallel, outcome-blinded Phase 3 clinical trials for patients with asymptomatic high-grade carotid artery stenosis which will compare carotid endarterectomy plus intensive medical management (IMM) versus IMM alone (n=1,240), and carotid artery stenting plus IMM versus IMM alone (n=1,240) to prevent stroke and death). CREST-H addresses the intriguing question of whether cognitive impairment can be reversed when it arises from abnormal cerebral hemodynamic perfusion in a hemodynamically impaired subset of the CREST-2 -randomized patients. We will enroll 500 patients from CREST-2, all of whom receive cognitive assessments at baseline and yearly thereafter. We anticipate identifying 100 patients with hemodynamic impairment as measured by an inter-hemispheral MRI perfusion "time to peak" (TTP) delay on the side of stenosis. Among those who are found to be hemodynamically impaired and have baseline cognitive impairment, the cognitive batteries at baseline and at 1 year will determine if those with flow failure who are randomized to a revascularization arm in CREST-2 will have better cognitive outcomes than those in the medical-only arm compared with this treatment difference for those who have no flow failure. We hypothesize that hemodynamically significant "asymptomatic" carotid disease may represent one of the few examples of treatable causes of cognitive impairment. If cognitive decline can be reversed in these patients, then we will have established a new indication for carotid revascularization independent of the risk of recurrent stroke.

Carotid revascularization for primary prevention of stroke (CREST-2) is two independent multicenter, randomized controlled trials of carotid revascularization and intensive medical management versus medical management alone in patients with asymptomatic high-grade carotid stenosis. One trial will randomize patients in a 1:1 ratio to endarterectomy versus no endarterectomy and another will randomize patients in a 1:1 ratio to carotid stenting with embolic protection versus no stenting. Medical management will be uniform for all randomized treatment groups and will be centrally directed.

The primary specific aim of the study is to compare the post-procedure treatment differences in stroke risk between those randomized to revascularization and intensive medical management (IMM) and those randomized to IMM alone. This difference will be assessed using proportional hazards analysis, with the primary analysis restricted to those who are stroke-free at the end of the 44-day periprocedural period and with the primary analysis being performed on the intention-to-treat population.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether transverse/sigmoid sinus junction stenting reduces the risk of recurrent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension presenting with CSF leak.

This is a prospective, multi-center, non-randomized clinical evaluation utilizing the PulseRider® Aneurysm Neck Reconstruction Device.

The purpose of this study is to obtain human placentas from obstetric patients giving birth at Mayo Clinic. We then plan to produce model aneurysms within the placentas using a validated methodology. Model placentas will then be used for training purposes in a microsurgical lab available to all neurosurgical residents.

The purpose of this study is to identify differences in outcome assessment between a member of the treating team (MRS assigned using a structured standard interview during scheduled appointment) and the patients’ self assessment.

The purpose of this study is to determine the best intra-arterial drug treatment regimen for arterial lumen restoration following cerebral vasospasm after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

This clinical research study is designed to determine safety and effectiveness of the Surpass Flow Diverter (Surpass System), an investigational device developed to treat wide neck, large or giant intracranial aneurysms. An intracranial aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel in the brain. The bulge is caused by a weakening of the vessel wall. If left untreated, the bulge may continue to grow larger and ultimately the vessel may break open (rupture), resulting in serious bleeding into our around the brain. The information collected from this study will be used to evaluate how well patients do when treated with the Surpass System both immediately after treatment of an aneurysm and over a long period of time (5 years).