Departments and specialties

Mayo Clinic has one of the largest and most experienced practices in the United States, with campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Staff skilled in dozens of specialties work together to ensure quality care and successful recovery.

Research

Mayo Clinic experts trained in brain conditions (neurologists), brain surgery (neurosurgeons), nonsurgical treatments (neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists), brain imaging (neuroradiologists) and other professionals research brain aneurysm development, diagnosis, monitoring, management and treatment.

Researchers study which brain aneurysms need to be treated and which can be monitored. Mayo Clinic researchers also study management of subarachnoid hemorrhages. Learn more about research in neurology and neurologic surgery.

Mayo Clinic research of note includes:

  • Flow diverter research. Mayo Clinic researchers collaborated on the Pipeline for Uncoilable or Failed Aneurysms (PUFS) study. They also led the Aneurysm Study of Pipeline in an Observational Registry (ASPIRE) study. Both studies assessed the feasibility, safety and efficacy of flow diverters for the treatment of unruptured brain aneurysms.

    Flow diverters are special devices that will redirect flow away from aneurysms when placed across the aneurysms. In the vast majority of people, placing flow diverters eventually leads to complete elimination of the aneurysm. Such diverters are threaded to the aneurysm site through a catheter placed in the groin area.

    Mayo specialists also conduct related research on the effectiveness of particular approaches, such as flow diverter and coiling followed by flow diversion to treat ruptured complex and large or giant ruptured cerebral aneurysms. Other research has included studying the potential efficacy of combined coiling and anti-inflammatory medicines, to help prevent delayed aneurysm ruptures.

  • The International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms study. The International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA) indicated that aneurysm size and location were predictors of rupture in a cohort of people with an unruptured aneurysm. The research, led by Mayo Clinic and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, helped more reliably determine brain aneurysms needing immediate treatment.
  • Other large-scale studies. Mayo Clinic researchers examine questions such as the incidence and predictors of complications after surgical clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. The aim in the post-surgical clipping study was to help recognize people at greater risk of post-surgical complications, hopefully leading to appropriate treatment strategy changes for such people.

    Mayo Clinic researchers also have examined the comparative effectiveness of endovascular coil embolization versus clipping for ruptured intracranial aneurysms. Additionally, Mayo researchers collaborated on a multicenter study on stent-assisted coiling versus coiling alone in poor-grade ruptured intracranial aneurysms.

  • Aneurysm genetics. Mayo Clinic researchers collaborated in the Familial Intracranial Aneurysm Study, which assessed the underlying genetic cause for brain aneurysms and frequency of aneurysm detection in the setting of a family history of aneurysm.
  • Aneurysm imaging. Mayo Clinic researchers are assessing imaging features that may predict a future risk of hemorrhage in patients with an unruptured aneurysm. The research includes the evaluation of a special type of MRI called vessel wall imaging, which can detect the presence of contrast enhancement of the aneurysm wall.

Publications

See a list of publications about brain aneurysms by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.

Read more about intracranial aneurysm management.