A Glimmer of Hope

Last week the mail carrier delivered my newsletter from the National Brain Aneurysm Foundation, which is based near Boston, MA. As I flipped through it, my attention was caught by two stories that outlined current research into brain aneurysms.

I already knew about the work being done at Yale. Research there involves genetics and the identification of risk for brain aneurysms through DNA. I was one of the thousands of brain aneurysm survivors asked to participate and last spring the lab at St. Johns Hospital cheerfully drew my blood and sent it off to the Ivy League school.

According to the article, five spots on the DNA strand have been identified as genetic variants that could carry a significant risk for brain aneurysms. As research continues into this extremely complex area, I see a glimmer of hope that someday we will have genetic screening that can help identify people who are at risk for developing brain aneurysms BEFORE their brain blows up like mine did. It would be a true blessing to have better screening.

The other article that caught my eye in the newsletter detailed ongoing research funded by the National Brain Aneurysm Foundation to save brains (and therefore lives) once an aneurysm ruptures.  This research indicates that neurological problems that follow treatment for ruptured aneurysms may be caused by tiny blood clots and vessel spasms. The hope is to develop medications that target those teeny clots so that a ruptured brain aneurysm does not doom us with a lifetime of impairment or lifestyle adjustments.

In my opinion, both types of research are important and encouraging. Every year about 30,000 people in this country rupture brain aneurysms. Only 18,000 of us survive to face another day.  Wouldn’t it be nice to cut down on the ruptures and improve the survival?

In an era when cancer dominates the medical research community and its funding dollars, it is gratifying to know that at least some researchers think brain aneurysms deserve time and attention, too.