RESEARCH
Research Points to Potential
Way to Detect Brain Aneurysms
with a Blood Test
An estimated five percent of Americans harbor an unruptured brain aneurysm which, if it ruptures,
can be fatal or result in lifelong disabilities. Because most unruptured aneurysms have no symptoms,
they remain dormant, often being found only after they rupture.
The early detection of brain aneurysms has been a goal of researchers for decades, as it would
make it possible for doctors to monitor and, if necessary, treat aneurysms to avoid rupture and its
often-devastating consequences. With funding from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, a team of
researchers at State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, NY, and the Toshiba Stroke and
Vascular Research Center has potentially found a way to detect brain aneurysms early with a simple
blood test.
Their research was published in a paper in the January 17, 2018 issue of PLoS One entitled
“Circulating Neutrophil Transcriptome May Reveal Intracranial Aneurysm Signature.” The authors
are Vincent Tutino, Kerry Poppenberg, Kaiyu Jiang, James Jarvis, Yijun Sun, Ashish Sonig, Adnan
Siddiqui, Kenneth Snyder, Elad Levy, John Kolega, and Hui Meng (full citation on next page).
Partially funded by BAF
Drs. Meng and Tutino are both recent recipients of grants from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation
(BAF) through its Chairs of Research program, which supports brain aneurysm research through
gifts of $10,000 or more from donors in memory or honor of a loved one. This project was funded
in part by the BAF’s Carol W. Harvey Chair of Research, which was established by BAF board
member Jeffrey B. Harvey in memory of his wife, Carol, who died of complications from a ruptured
brain aneurysm.
B R AIN ANEU RYSM FOU NDATION | SU M M E R 201 8 | BAFOU ND.ORG
12