Boston, United States. A Cypriot neurologist based in the United States has secured $9 million in international funding for a major research initiative aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of a brain disease linked to strokes and dementia. The award was announced on Tuesday.
Funding award
The funding was granted to Dr Andreas Charidimou, assistant professor of neurology at Boston University medical centre, by the Leducq Foundation through its International Networks of Excellence programme.
Research project
The award will support the five-year TRAFFIC project, a new international research network focused on cerebral amyloid angiopathy, commonly known as CAA.
About the condition
CAA affects the small blood vessels of the brain and is most often found in older people. It occurs when a protein called amyloid builds up in the walls of blood vessels, making them weaker and more vulnerable to damage.
CAA is a major cause of haemorrhagic strokes and is also closely associated with memory loss, cognitive decline and forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. There are currently no treatments specifically designed to target the disease.
Research goals
“CAA is one of the most common conditions affecting the ageing brain, but there are still significant unanswered questions about how it develops and progresses,” Dr Charidimou said.
“Through TRAFFIC, we are bringing together scientists with complementary expertise in clinical neurology, molecular biology and experimental research, with the aim of creating the basis for better diagnosis, future treatments and training the next generation of researchers in the field,” he added.
International collaboration
The TRAFFIC network will bring together researchers from leading institutions in the US and Europe to improve understanding of how the condition develops and progresses.
