Killam Seminar Series: Acute Cerebroprotection in Ischemic Stroke

Professor of Neuroscience, University of Warwick, United Kingdom

Acute Cerebroprotection in Ischemic Stroke

Abstract: Ischemic stroke (IS) is caused by a sudden occlusion of a brain-supplying artery. Stroke is frequent due to the wide representation of its risk factors, a leading cause of death and the most frequent reason for permanent disability in adulthood. Despite its immense medical and socio-economic impact, re-establishing cerebral blood flow by recanalizing the occluded vessel is the only established therapeutic option. However, recanalization therapies are limited by narrow time therapeutic windows, the requirement of specific infrastructure, and numerous contraindications. Cerebroprotective therapies shielding neurons and glia from ischemic damage would be beneficial in IS. Previous research on such approaches has been futile for decades but recent preclinical and clinical developments have caused a renaissance of cerebroprotective paradigms. The talk will briefly introduce the complex pathophysiology of IS and explain difficulties the field faced during the development of cerebroprotective paradigms in the past. It will then introduce the novel key strategy of acute cerebroprotection and will explain why chances for a therapeutic breakthrough are now higher than ever. The main part of the talk will provide detailed insights into selected, currently investigated cerebroprotective approaches for IS by providing data from basic science and translational animal experiments. The talk will conclude by providing a brief overview of the recently established translational research concept of multicenter preclinical trials.

Bio: Johannes Boltze studied medicine and neurobiology at the University of Leipzig, Germany holding a doctoral degree in both disciplines. He started his career working for the Fraunhofer Society, a non-profit, extra-university research organization and Europe’s largest institution for translational and applied research. At Fraunhofer, he served as a group and later department head and spend a total of two years in the US (Harvard) and Canada (McMaster), respectively. He currently serves as a Full Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Warwick, Coventry, UK where he also directs the university’s largest undergraduate life science degree stream, Biomedical Science, with over 600 students. His research interests are focused on cerebrovascular diseases, in particular stroke and vascular dementia. Johannes Boltze has published over 190 peer-reviewed papers (h-factor 52) and holds 6 patients. He serves as one of two senior editors for translational science in “Stroke” and is a Co-Editor in Chief of the recently launched journal “Neuroprotection”.

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