Does Aspirin reduce inflammation in the walls of unruptured brain aneurysms?
Brain aneurysms are balloon-like outpouchings of a blood vessel resulting from a weakness in
the vessel wall. They generally cause no symptoms, but can burst and cause a bleed in the
brain, resulting in death or disability. Aneurysms occur in 1 in 30 people, but rarely burst,
with 1 in 10,000 people having a brain bleed.
Ideally, aneurysms would be treated before they burst to prevent bleeding in the brain. The
two ways of treating aneurysms currently are both risky and invasive, and no medications have
been shown to reduce the risk of aneurysms bursting.
Aspirin is one of the most common medications, used worldwide to treat pain, fever and
inflammation, and for the prevention of strokes and heart attacks. Its anti-inflammatory
properties may be beneficial for patients with aneurysms. We know that the walls of burst
aneurysms and aneurysms that are about to burst, are more inflamed than those that do not
burst. Therefore, a drug that reduces inflammation may reduce the risk of an aneurysm
bursting.
We have designed this study to test whether there is a measurable reduction in inflammation
in walls of brain aneurysms.
In this study, participants known to have an aneurysm that is not planned for treatment and
has not yet burst, take aspirin daily for three months, and have an MRI scan before and after
to look for a reduction in inflammation.
If this study is successful it would be the first step towards developing the first
medication to help treat patients with aneurysms, representing a huge advance for the 2.1
million people in the UK with this condition.
Phase:
Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust