7th International Cerebral Vascular Biology Conference

Rhode Island Hospital, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is a request for funds toward support of the 7th International Cerebral Vascular Biology Conference (CVB-2007). The Cerebral Vascular Biology (CVB) Conferences are bi-annual meetings that provide a broad international discussion forum for scientists and clinicians engaged in research on CNS barriers and cerebral vascular biology. The neurovascular unit and blood brain barrier have been identified by NIH as priority research areas in neurosciences. CVB-2007 mission is to specifically 'target' these identified priority areas. The key objective is to improve the understanding of the brain barriers and the neurovascular unit and to translate this knowledge into clinically applicable strategies for brain therapeutic delivery and management of CNS diseases by targeting vascular pathologies. Many neurological disorders and lesions are associated with prominent cerebrovascular pathology (e.g., cerebral amyloid angiopathy in Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis in stroke, etc.) and/or increased BBB permeability. They include: neoplasia, ischemia, hypertension, dementia, epilepsy, infection, multiple sclerosis, and trauma. The advances in mechanistic understanding of neuronal degeneration have not found successful conduits for clinical translation. The major impediment for clinical translation of various potential treatments is difficulty in their delivery to the brain or neurons affected by disease. The established emphasis of CVB conferences is on mechanisms, modulation and modeling of blood-brain and blood-CSF barriers in health and disease. The key additional emphasis of the CVB-2007 will be on translational research - tracing the path from fundamental mechanistic discovery through pre-clinical development to clinical application. The objective of the organizers is to increase the participation of clinicians including neurologists, neurosurgeons, and neuroradiologists. To achieve this primary goal, a significant component of the meeting will be dedicated to the role of the neurovascular unit and CNS barriers in brain diseases with specific sessions planned on stroke, Alzheimer's disease and neuroinflammatory diseases. Other pathologies including brain tumors and epilepsy will also be covered in various sessions throughout the conference. The health 'burden' of these pathologies is immense - the CVB-2007 will contribute to better understanding of vascular component of neurological diseases and to development of more efficacious therapies that target these diseases. The primary objective of the CVB-2007 is to serve as a catalyst for exchange of information on scientific discoveries, innovation, and technology development among researchers and clinicians working in the cerebrovascular research field. The key accent of this meeting will be on translational research - advancing from fundamental mechanistic discoveries through pre-clinical development to clinical applications. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]