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  • November 13, 2023
    Peloton Star Partnering with BAF to Promote Brain Aneurysm Awareness, Research
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  • October 16, 2023
    Lauren Miller Rogen Reveals She Had Brain Aneurysm Removed: ‘I’m Truly Grateful’
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  • September 19, 2023
    NBC News: Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month with Sharon Epperson
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  • July 05, 2023
    German Fitness Influencer Jo Lindner Dies of Aneurysm at 30
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  • May 19, 2023
    Father of ‘Jeopardy!’ star dies of brain aneurysm: Here’s what you need to know
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  • January 25, 2023
    Preventing Brain Aneurysm Ruptures; Education, Awareness, Research
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  • October 20, 2022
    Meet Research Grant Recipient: Edgar A. Samaniego, MD, MS
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  • October 17, 2022
    Meet Research Grant Recipient: Tatsat Patel, PhD & Sricharan Veeturi
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  • October 06, 2022
    Meet Research Grant Recipient: Seungil Kim, PhD
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  • September 30, 2022
    Influencer Meredith Staggers Says Her Migraine Turned Out to Be a Life-Threatening Brain Aneurysm
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In My Area

Support groups
  • AdventHealth Brain Aneurysm Support Group

    Winter Park, FL

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  • Baltimore Brain Aneurysm Foundation Support Group

    Lutherville-Timonium, MD

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  • Bay Area Aneurysm and Vascular Malformation Support Group

    San Francisco, CA

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  • May 13, 2022
  • BAF
  • Advocacy
  • Awareness
  • Community News

Viewpoint: Long-Overlooked Killer Needs Attention, Funding

The accelerated development of effective Covid-19 vaccines affirms the commonwealth’s status as home to many of the most innovative life sciences research institutions in the world. And while some medical research attracts significant government funding, other crucial work receives little or no federal support.

Brain aneurysms — a weak spot in a cerebral artery that can burst, often causing brain damage, disabilities or death —impact almost 7 million Americans each year. Yet scientists do not have access to the research dollars needed to fully understand risk factors and develop new treatments for this life-threatening condition.

As many as 500,000 deaths around the world are caused by brain aneurysms annually, and half of those impacted are 50 years old and younger. In fact, while brain aneurysms are most common in people between the ages of 35 and 60, they can occur in children as well. In addition, there is a 20% incidence of aneurysms in “first-degree” relatives — the parents, children, and siblings of patients.

Despite the widespread availability of brain-imaging technology that can detect an aneurysm before it ruptures, misdiagnoses and delays in treatment occur in 25% of patients seeking medical care. And in three out of four cases, the primary cause of a misdiagnosis is a failure to order a scan. That’s why the Massachusetts-based Brain Aneurysm Foundation has launched the Scan2Save initiative, a public-health campaign aimed at both physicians and patients. Training the medical community and patients to quickly recognize the symptoms of a brain aneurysm and create a treatment plan is essential.

 

 

By Congressman Stephen Lynch and Christine Buckley

 



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