Inflammation and stroke: developing treatments and understanding post-stroke dementia

Bio

Professor Stuart Allan’s research expertise is in understanding the contribution of inflammation to neurological disease, with a primary focus on stroke and vascular dementia. He and colleagues in Manchester first identified the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) as a key mediator of neuronal injury following stroke and therefore a promising therapeutic target. His on-going translational research combines preclinical and clinical studies, with the overall aim of discovering new treatments that can improve patient’s lives. Current projects are focussed on inflammatory processes in the acute phase of ischaemic stroke, developing therapies for both ischaemic stroke and intracerebral haemorrhage, and understanding how immune/inflammatory changes contribute to post-stroke cognitive decline. He is academic lead for the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre Neuroscience Domain and Co-Director of the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre (https://gjbrainresearch.org). Stuart is a passionate advocate of public engagement and has led many innovative projects in this area over the years.

Abstract

It is now well recognised that immune/inflammatory mechanisms contribute to stroke across the whole patient pathway, as a contributor to risk, acute injury and longer-term complications. In this seminar I will present our recent research in this area, covering both preclinical and clinical studies. This will include findings from studies investigating anti-inflammatory therapies for acute treatment of ischaemic stroke and brain haemorrhage and data from our ongoing clinical study StrokeIMPaCT exploring how systemic immune changes correlate with post-stroke cognitive decline. Where relevant I will highlight imaging approaches that are being used in these studies.