Skip to main content Skip to search

Neurovascular Research

Description

NVASC is a multidisciplinary team integrated by academic and/or healthcare professionals belonging to the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Faculty of Medicine of the UCM and the Neurology Service of the Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12). Cerebrovascular diseases are NVASC objective because of their high prevalence, holding the highest positions among neurological and cardiovascular diseases.

The lack of knowledge on the integration of the physiopathological mechanisms that underlie neurovascular damage in stroke and vascular dementias may explain the limited therapeutic management of these disorders. To address this unmet need, NVASC unifies basic and clinical expertise in neurovascular pathology in order to establish an optimal scenario for the discovery of new treatments and biomarkers, based on the understanding of the neurovascular unit (neurons, astrocytes, blood-brain barrier endothelial cells, myocytes, pericytes and extracellular matrix components) and the contribution of the systemic response in stroke and vascular cognitive impairment. In order to face the needs that these disorders demand, the preclinical and clinical researchers of NVASC are members of the Thematic Network of Cooperative Health Research (RETICS) INVICTUS-PLUS, and of other consortia at national and regional levels.

NVASC demonstrates a firm commitment to translational research, articulated through several lines in which the group members are leading and even pioneer experts, often inspiring other groups in their field:

  • Innate immunity in neurovascular disease: project developed in i+12, focused on the innate immune response after stroke, at both central and peripheral levels.
  • Mechanisms of synaptic regulation: role in neuronal death and plasticity in neurovascular pathology.
  • Elucidation and identification of physiopathological mechanisms, therapeutic targets and biomarkers of vascular dementias.
  • Vascular contribution in Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Adult neurogenesis and angiogenesis after brain damage and associated comorbidities.
  • Mechanisms of haemorrhagic transformation of ischemic stroke.
  • Comorbidities: role of aging.
  • Development of advanced imaging diagnostic techniques in cerebrovascular disease.

The research group combines a wide range of experimental models and advanced biomedical technologies with the clinical activity developed in the Stroke Unit of the Hospital 12 de Octubre, complemented by collaboration with other Stroke Units at national level. As part of an academic institution, a cardinal goal of NVASC dwells on its teaching vocation, articulated throughout the training of the future biomedical professionals. NVASC is also committed to innovation through collaborative research activities with companies (APTUS SL and APTATARGETS SL).