About the CAA Research Program at MGH
The CAA Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital is comprised of physician-investigators, scientists, research and administrative staff. Together, our research focuses on the development, diagnosis, and treatment of cerebral amyloid angiopathy. CAA is an important cause of cerebral hemorrhage in the elderly. It is currently one of the few kinds of stroke without effective prevention or treatment strategies. CAA involves the deposition of amyloid ß-peptide similar to Alzheimer’s disease.
Our research is divided into a clinical program that focuses on the molecular epidemiology of CAA and a laboratory program studying its pathogenesis. Our clinical research program has assembled a cohort of patients with probable CAA-related cerebral hemorrhage. This has allowed us to identify genetic risk factors for CAA such as the APOE genotype[BE1] , as well as the progression of the disease over time.
Our laboratory research program focuses on transgenic mouse models of CAA. These studies offer a promising approach for devising and testing new candidate treatments for preventing progression of CAA. Other major interests in our clinical research group include the genetics of other forms of intracerebral hemorrhage, the effects of CAA on blood vessel function and risk of vascular cognitive impairment.
The ultimate goal of our CAA studies is to:
Identify safe and effective treatments for lowering the risk of recurrent hemorrhage and other forms of clinical deterioration in patients with CAA, such as vascular cognitive impairment.
Predict a patient's risk for hemorrhage and thereby allow treatments that affect blood clotting to be used more safely and effectively.