Buchan Group: Laboratory of Cerebral Ischemia

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and leading cause of disability in developed countries. In the UK, 150,000 strokes occur every year with 67,000 resulting in death. The only effective therapies that are currently approved for the acute treatment of ischaemic stroke patients are aspirin and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA, alteplase, Actilyse®). Unfortunately, rtPA can only be administered within 4.5 hours of the onset of ischemia due to risk of haemorrhage.

The Laboratory of Cerebral Ischaemia forms part of the Acute Stroke Programme, where we work alongside clinical colleagues who help treat stroke patients every day. This close relationship allows a translational approach to our research whereby our research can directly impact on daily clinical practice of acute stroke treatment, "from bench to bedside".

We aim to identify novel drugs and strategies that may be used for the treatment or prevention of an acute stroke. There have been numerous drugs that have been developed in rodent models of stroke; however, these compounds have failed to translate into novel therapies in the clinic. Our aim is to both study novel compounds and targets in the treatment of stroke, as well as to study the mechanisms which underlie cell death, in order to more effectively target these treatments.

Our research involves various aspects of physiology, pharmacology, in vivo imaging, surgery and clinical medicine, with a focus on vascular function post-stroke and the role of the CNS and systemic immune systems. We collaborate with both clinical and pre-clinical researchers in order to develop novel stroke therapies, and to better understand the processes occurring in the body after a stroke.