The contribution of amyloid angiopathy to intracerebral haemorrhage: a clinico-radio-pathological case-control study

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About one in six strokes are due to bleeding into the brain. Around 10,000 adults in the UK suffer such a bleed annually and the effects can be devastating. 50% of patients die within the first month, and those that survive are significantly functionally impaired; their quality of life is badly affected. I seek to understand more about a condition that may commonly cause such bleeding. It is called cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). It occurs because the body deposits an abnormal protein called amyloid in the blood vessels of the brain. CAA is thought to cause bleeds which occur near the surface of the brain, whereas other conditions (such as high blood pressure) are assumed to cause bleeding deep within the brain. This project seeks to test these assumptions and see if brain imaging can help detect CAA. In the future, this might help to detect and treat CAA before a bleed occurs. I will compare imaging and brain tissue samples of people who have died from such bleeds with people who have died from other causes. I hope this work will help doctors to develop a more rational and effective approach to managing this devastating condition.