The brain's blood vessels following cardiac arrest and resuscitation

2022.01.17 | Graduate School of Health

On Friday 4 Februar at 14.00, Frederik Boe Hansen defends his PhD dissertation entitled "Cerebrovascular pathophysiology in an experimental cardiac arrest rat model".

Annually, more than 5,000 people suffer from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Denmark. The mortality rate is high; primarily due to brain injury that evolves during and after the cardiac arrest. The exact mechanisms leading to the progression of brain injury has not been elucidated yet. However, malfunctioning blood supply along with the build-up of extra fluid in the brain is believed to be pivotal factors.

The PhD project was based on three experimental cardiac arrest animal studies. Two studies aimed to describe potential changes to the brain's blood vessels after cardiac arrest. A third study aimed to investigate the effect of a novel pharmacological treatment with the potential to mitigate brain injury following cardiac arrest.

The main results showed that the blood vessels' ability to control blood flow was disturbed after cardiac arrest. These changes may trigger a malfunctioning blood supply and the build-up of extra fluid in the brain, thus carrying the potential to aggravate brain injury after cardiac arrest.

The current project forms the basis for further investigations of the blood vessels' properties after cardiac arrest, which may entail the development of novel treatment strategies capable of diminishing brain injury in the post cardiac arrest period.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in room 1252-204, Eduard Biermann auditorium, Aarhus University. Please see attahced press release for more information.

Contact

PhD student Frederik Boe Hansen

Mail: frederikboe@clin.au.dk

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