On prothrombotic factors and blood biomarkers in ischemic stroke

Stroke is the foremost cause of adult disability. Ischemic stroke, which accounts for 85% of all strokes, is caused by blood clot formation. Therefore, this project focuses on the hemostatic pathway. Up to a fourth of ischemic strokes are of undetermined cause, i.e. cryptogenic.

We will investigate prothrombotic biomarker profiles in cardioembolic, large artery, and small vessel ischemic stroke, and also undertake a broader investigation of blood-based biomarkers.

We will seek biomarker profiles distinguishing the three stroke subtypes, and these will be used in order to gain novel insights as to causes of cryptogenic stroke.

There is a large inter-individual variation in ischemic stroke recovery and outcomes, and part of this variation remains unexplained by clinical factors alone.

We will therefore also investigate blood-based biomarkers as predictors of different outcomes including recurrent stroke, and explore the trajectories of both recovery and biomarkers. Our research integrates clinical and experimental studies. We recruit stroke cohorts locally and collaborate in clinical projects internationally.

We investigate biomarkers at the protein and RNA level, perform genome-wide analyses, and targeted sequencing of human liver to identify novel gene variants regulating hemostasis.

The knowledge gained from the proposed project may ultimately contribute to the development of better prevention, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for stroke.