Project Description

Challenge

The time around birth (known as the perinatal period) poses a high risk of stroke for children. One of the leading forms of cerebral palsy (CP) called hemiplegic CP, is often a result of these perinatal strokes. Despite this, perinatal stroke has been largely understudied, and limited treatment options or prevention strategies exist.

Project Summary

The Alberta Perinatal Stroke Project (APSP) established a cohort of nearly 800 affected children in an attempt to gain more insight into the causes and potential biomarkers of this form of stroke. The Project was one of the largest, most well-characterized, and truly population-based perinatal stroke research cohort that existed.

This project used data from APSP to discover what clinical factors were associated with perinatal stroke, whether markers of placental disease and inflammation were present in newborns with stroke as a way to potentially identify biomarkers, and whether blood-clotting abnormalities predisposed a child to perinatal stroke.

Result

To determine potential risk factors, the team collected data through parent interviews and reviewed all maternal, perinatal, and child medical records, which they then analyzed to determine whether any prominent risk factors were evident.  The researchers also developed a new method to obtain, process, and analyze biomarkers from neonatal blood spots. They also found dozens of inflammatory proteins that had higher levels in children who suffered from perinatal stroke. This project has helped researchers gain a better understanding of perinatal stroke and allowed for continued expansion into further studies that will eventually aid in even better characterization.

Team

Investigators

Dr. Adam Kirton, University of Calgary
Dr. Patricia Massicotte, University of Alberta
Dr. Kamran Yusuf, University of Calgary
Dr. Aru Narendran, University of Calgary
Dr. Jerome Yager, University of Alberta
Dr. John Andersen, University of Alberta
Dr. Alberto Nettel-Aguirre, University of Calgary
Dr. Gabrielle deVeber, University of Toronto
Dr. Michael Hill, University of Calgary
Dr. Michael Shevell, McGill University

Collaborators

Dr. Fiona Bamforth, University of Alberta
Dr. Francois Bernier, University of Calgary
Dr. Michael Leaker, University of Calgary
Dr. Xing-Chang Wei, University of Calgary
Dr. Christian Beaulieu, University of Alberta
Dr. Jayme Kosior, Cybertrial Medical Software Inc.
Dr. Brent Hagel, Alberta Children’s Hospital
Dr. Jean Mah, University of Calgary
Ms. Sonia Rothenmund, Alberta Children’s Hospital

Partners

Eve Technologies (Calgary)