Japan Team Identifies Mutations Linked to Brain Aneurysms

From Jiji

June 15 2023

TOKYO – A Japanese research team has identified gene mutations involved in the development of brain aneurysms, a discovery that raises hopes for pharmaceutical treatment of the condition.

Brain aneurysms, also called intracranial aneurysms, are bulges in cerebral blood vessels that, if ruptured, may cause a subarachnoid hemorrhage with a high fatality rate.

About 5 pct of Japanese people are said to have brain aneurysms that have not ruptured. But the only treatment available is surgical procedures such as those using vascular catheters and craniotomy, in which part of the skull is temporarily removed.

The team, including researchers of major research institute Riken and Yamanashi University, also found that an anticancer agent is effective in curbing the formation of brain aneurysms as the mutations are also involved in tumor formation.

The study was published Wednesday on the U.S. journal Science Translational Medicine.