Alpha Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Increases Cerebral Vessel Diameter in Animal Models of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Liam M C Flynn, Caroline J Begg, Malcolm R Macleod, Peter J D Andrews

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a life-threatening complication after subarachnoid hemorrhage. There is a strong association between cerebral vessel narrowing and DCI. Alpha calcitonin gene-related peptide (αCGRP) is a potent vasodilator, which may be effective at reducing cerebral vessel narrowing after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Here, we report a meta-analysis of data from nine in vivo animal studies identified in a systematic review in which αCGRP was administered in SAH models. Our primary outcome was change in cerebral vessel diameter and the secondary outcome was change in neurobehavioral scores. There was a 40.8 ± 8.2% increase in cerebral vessel diameter in those animals treated with αCGRP compared with controls (p < 0.0005, 95% CI 23.7-57.9). Neurobehavioral scores were reported in four publications and showed a standardized mean difference of 1.31 in favor of αCGRP (CI -0.49 to 3.12). We conclude that αCGRP reduces cerebral vessel narrowing seen after SAH in animal studies but note that there is insufficient evidence to determine its effect on functional outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)357
JournalFrontiers in Neurology
Volume8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Jul 2017

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Journal Article
  • Review

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