Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Diseases

Pr Lorenz Hirt

Pr Patrik Michel

Stroke is a major public health issue worldwide. In Switzerland, it is the third cause of death and the main cause of disability in adults. More than 600 patients are admitted every year into the CHUV in the Service of Neurologie - Stroke Center following an acute stroke or transient ischemic attack. The only available treatment for acute ischemic stroke is acute revascularization therapy (intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular intra-arterial clot removal) within the first hours after symptom onset. An increasing number of patients now benefit from this treatment but the total number, approximately 10%, remains low and a specific alternative treatment for the majority of patients is lacking.

Our lab, directed by Pr Lorenz Hirt, is studying ischemic damage to the brain as well as endogenous tolerance mechanisms, which exist in the brain, with the aim of identifying new therapeutic targets and developing new strategies to protect the suffering brain tissue in the case of stroke.

Using an experimental approach both in vitro and in vivo in rodents, we study mechanisms of cell death and neuroprotection after stroke. We are also investigating potential biomarkers for outcome prediction in these models.

Our laboratory is part the Department of Clinical Neurosciences of the CHUV. We are hosted by and collaborate actively with the Department of Fundamental Neurosciences.

Directed by Pr Lorenz Hirt, the Experimental Stroke Research Laboratory studies the damage inflicted on the brain by ischemia (reduced arterial blood supply to an organ) with the goal of identifying new therapeutic targets and developing new strategies to protect brain tissue in stroke. Using an in vitro and in vivo approach in mice, her team is studying the mechanisms of cell death and neuroprotection (brain protection) after stroke. They are also studying potential biological markers for early prediction of the severity of lesions.

His laboratory is part of the Department of Clinical Neuroscience. His activities are housed within the Department of Basic Neuroscience with which his team actively collaborates.

The Pr Patrik Michel heads the Laboratory of the Clinical Research Unit on Stroke. Its clinical research team has been managing the ASTRAL (Acute STroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne) since 2003. It contains data from > 6000 acute stroke patients, each with > 300 variables including demographic, clinical, comorbidity, multimodal imaging, etiological and outcome data. Angiographic and perfusion data based on CT and more recently angiographic and perfusion MRI are collected and analyzed in detail.

They also study the influence of acute revascularization treatments in different situations, common and rare mechanisms of stroke, and prognostic markers of long-term outcome. The team participates in multiple national and international randomized trials for acute stroke treatment and secondary prevention.