Chinese University study to change lives of cerebral aneurysm patients

A trial in local hospitals has proved that a new treatment can eliminate swelling in the wall of the brain's blood vessels and prevent their rupture.

Led by Chinese University, it was the first clinical study in Asia to test the insertion of a metal woven tube that blocks blood from flowing into the bulge - known as a cerebral aneurysm - causing it to shrink.

Results showed that for unruptured or recurrent bulges, it was a more effective treatment than the common method of filling the bulge with a coil. Using the coils, there is a 15 per cent chance that the bulge may recur.

"Hospitals that have participated in this study are now using [the tube] for suitable patients. We have consensus that it is a reliable method," said Professor Simon Yu Chun-ho, director of the university's Vascular and Interventional Radiology Foundation Clinical Science Centre, which conducted the research.

He estimated that about seven in eight cerebral aneurysm patients treated in public hospitals came only after their aneurysms had ruptured and therefore were not suitable for the treatment.

But most of the remaining cases were suitable, especially those whose aneurysms were large or fusiform - wide in the middle and tapering at the ends.

Cerebral aneurysms are formed like blown-up balloons, and are caused by weakening in the vessel wall. They may be related to high blood pressure or other factors and occur in about 3 per cent of the city's population, Yu said.