A new study published in BMJ Open has measured for the first time a link between variations in size of the brain’s arteries and the likelihood of a cerebral aneurysm, providing scientists with a new screening tool to monitor people at risk.
Lead researcher, University of South Australia neuroanatomist, Dr Arjun Burlakoti, says imaging tests of 145 patients showed that people with asymmetric brain arteries have a significantly higher chance of developing an aneurysm, a ballooned vessel in the brain, that can rupture and cause a haemorrhagic stroke.
“A subarachnoid haemorrhage is the most dangerous type of stroke and occurs when a brain aneurysm leaks or ruptures, causing bleeding into the brain, killing more than 50 per cent of affected people,” Dr Burlakoti says.
