Research News

From the Angioma Alliance 2012 Spring newsletter:


Sporadic CCM: An Italian research group published a
study about the genetics of sporadic CCM. Sporadic CCM
is not caused by mutations in any of the CCM genes;
however, this group identified specific genetic variants that
are more likely to be found in people with sporadic CCM
than in the general population. (PMID: 22378217)

Conservative Management of CCM: Scottish
researcher and Angioma Alliance Scientific Advisory Board
member Rustam Al-Shahi Salman studied the untreated
clinical course of cerebral cavernous malformations. This
study looked at 139 individuals with at least one CCM who
did not undergo surgical treatment. The findings show that
within 5 years of experiencing a hemorrhage or
neurological symptom, the risk of experiencing a recurrent
symptom is higher than the risk of the initial
symptom. However, after 5 years, the risk of experiencing
additional symptoms begins to decline. (PMID: 22297119)

CCM3: While studying the function of the CCM3
protein, researchers in Spain identified that it plays an
important role in protecting cells from damage caused by
reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species can
damage cells and may have a role in other common
diseases like heart disease and cancer. These molecules are
also neutralized by antioxidants; compounds found in
many foods including fruits and vegetables. (PMID: 
22291017)

To read more about these studies, please use the
pubmed.gov search engine and search for these papers by
their PMID number listed above