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Emergence of a R-Type Ca2+ Channel Contributes to Cerebral Artery Constiction Following Subarachnoid Hemmorage
| Organization: | University of Vermont, MA, US |
| I.P. Brief: | Cerebral aneurysm rupture and subarachnoid hemorrage (SAH) inflict disability and death among thousands of individuals each year. The consequences of SAH following cerebral aneurysm rupture are devastating with mortality rates as high as 50% and the majority of survivors left with moderate to severe disability. |
| Summary of I.P.: | Cerebral vasospasm, characterized as a delayed and sustained arterial constriction, is a major contributor to high morbidity and mortality rates. Large diameter arteries have been implicated in contributing to decreased blood flow resulting in SAH. The invention is based in part on the discovery that small diameter arteries have R-type voltage dependent calcium channels that are involved in regulating calcium flow and play an important role in decreased cerebral blood flow observed following SAH. It has been discovered that SAH leads to enhanced Ca2+ entry in myocytes of small diameter cerebral arteries through the emergence of R-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCCs) encoded by the gene Cav2.3. We believe that the administration of an R-type voltage-dependent calcium channel inhibitor will allow the management of the cerebral blood flow during a time when it would normally decrease blood flow in small diameter arteries. The emergence of Cav2.3 in cerebral arteries following subarachnoid hemorrhage is unique and the first to be described in the expression of this ion channel in vascular smooth muscle. A unique peptide has been identified that may reverse subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced vasospasm. |
| Patent: | Provisional Patent filed |
| Keywords: | Aneurysm, Cerebral vasospasm, Calcium Channel |
| Primary Industry: | Pharma & Biotech |
| Specific Market: | Cerebral aneurysm rupture and subarachnoid hemorrage (SAH) |
| Market Size: | Unknown for the specific market size |
| State of the Art: | There is no current, effective treatment |
| Figures of Merit: | This technology will provide a much more effective management of cerebral blood flow reducing the damage from arterial constriction. |
| Tech. Obstacles: | Commercial partner needed to move from current animal work to human clinicals. |
| Market Obstacles: | Need to identify with a commercial partner. |
| Publications: | None available at this time. |
| Research Team: | George Wellman, Masanori Ishiguro |
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