Clot Analysis: Composition of acute intravascular emboli

Despite a reduction in stroke incidence and age-standardized death rates, stroke remains the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Several large-scale studies have shown that conventional risk factors predict less than one half of future cardiovascular events. Stroke prevention strategies may therefore be based on an incomplete set of biological and environmental risk factors. Using next generation sequencing technologies, we are studying the role of the microbiome in thrombi removed from cerebral arteries of stroke patients. A deeper understanding of the human host-microbiome interactions may help identify new risk factors and new avenues for treatment or prevention of ischemic stroke.