Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke-GERFHS III

Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke

The purpose of this study is to find risk factors for hemorrhagic stroke, specifically intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). ICH, a type of bleeding into brain tissue, is a type of stroke that can result in death or disability in a large number of people. Our study hopes to identify a specific genetic risk factor that will help identify at risk individuals and target treatment strategies.

Our case-control study will enroll subjects with a spontaneous ICH in the Greater Cincinnati region. For each subject enrolled we will also enroll a healthy control subject(matched by age , race and gender). Both the cases and control will undergo the same interview and have blood drawn for genetic analysis. The cases will have a chart abstraction done on their event medical record and be contacted for 3 and 6 month follow up(short interview). The genetic sample will be genotyped using the Affymetrix 6.0 gene chip looking for SNPs of interest and to identify genetic variants associated with ICH. The most promising SNPs identified through this process will be replicated in the external cohort from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 years or older
• Resident (6 months or longer) within 100 miles of University of Cincinnati.
• Fulfillment of the criteria for spontaneous ICH
• No evidence of trauma, brain tumor/metastases, hemorrhagic transformation of ischemic stroke or infectious processes as a cause of the hemorrhage.
• Ability of the patient or legal representative to provide consent for an interview, blood pressure determinations and DNA sampling.

Exclusion Criteria:

• N/A