IHRF Funds IH Animal Model Development Project at the University of Chicago
January 1, 2007—The Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation has awarded a grant for Phase 1 development of an IH animal model to a team of researchers at the University of Chicago, led by Dr. Richard Penn, a professor of neurosurgery.
The University of Chicago project will examine whether surgery is an effective, long-term method to create an IH animal model. In this study, intracranial hypertension will be created by surgically altering cerebral venous return through cervical A-V fistualization in combination with venous ligation and/ or additional use of thrombosis techniques.
An earlier animal model study funded by IHRF indicated that while both diet and surgery (jugular vein ligation) could produce elevation of intracranial pressure in chickens, the elevation occurred quicker, more consistently and more severely in cases of surgically-induced intracranial hypertension. (This study was published in Poultry Science in March 2006.)
Dr. Penn has worked with the medical device company, Medtronic, to develop an implantable telemetric sensor, which can provide long-term intracranial pressure readings, a key requirement for a successful IH animal model. The sensors, which have only been tested in animals, will be used to record intracranial pressure in this project.
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