BACKGROUND: A brain aneurysms is a bulging vessel in the brain that is filled with blood. They are estimated to happen in up to one in 15 people at some time in their lifetime, according to the American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology.

Women have a slightly increased risk of developing a brain aneurysm, compared to men. Aneurysms can put pressure on nerves or surrounding brain tissue. They often go undetected until they burst, which results in intracranial bleeding. This is referred to as a subarachnoid hemorrhage and can lead to complications like stroke, permanent brain damage and death.

TREATMENT: As an aneurysm grows in size, so does its chances of bursting. Sometimes aneurysms are detected and treated before they rupture, usually with surgery or minimally-invasive endovascular coiling.

Surgical treatment of aneurysms involve a craniotomy, or removing a portion of the skull. Surgeons stop blood flow to the aneurysm using a tiny metal clip. The bone is then replaced and the incision is closed. The endovascular option is a minimally invasive procedure. The aneurysm is first assessed by inserting a catheter into an artery in the patient's leg, up into the head. Tiny platinum coils are threaded through the catheter into the aneurysm until all of the space inside it is full. The coils block blood flow and prevent a rupture.

More than 125,000 patients around the world have been treated with this method. Studies showed there are many benefits of the minimally invasive treatment over the surgical method. For example, it cuts hospital time in half, reduces the likelihood of new symptoms and disability following treatment, and shortens recovery time from one year to in some instances, just 27 days.

GLUE FOR ANEURYSMS: According to Nasser Razack, M.D., an interventional neuroradiologist at Neurointerventional Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla., the smaller an aneurysm is, the greater the success the coiling treatment will be. For larger aneurysms that have a high rate of recurrence, the coils can't sufficiently fill the bulging vessel, allowing it to eventually refill with blood over time.

Doctors have a new way to fill aneurysms: onyx, a thick black substance that turns solid when exposed to blood. Onyx is injected into the brain through a catheter threaded from an artery in the leg up into the brain. It is an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer that was approved by the FDA in late 2007. "Our goal is to seal that aneurysm shut," Dr. Razack said.

"The more we can fill this aneurysm, the less likely the recurrence rate." According to Dr. Razack, coils fill only about 35 percent of an aneurysm, but onyx fills it 100 percent. A trial in Europe found Onyx to be just as safe as coiling. "There is always a risk of the onyx migrating or embolizing to an area we don't want it to," Dr. Razack noted. "But if it's done in the right hands, it's just as safe as coils."

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Dr. Nasser Razack
(727) 289-7139
Office.nia@gmail.com