SUMMARY
The research of Irene Meissner, M.D., spans the spectrum of cerebrovascular disorders. This includes ischemic and hemorrhage stroke, fusiform and saccular cerebral aneurysms, central nervous system vasculitis and other inflammatory disorders, amyloid angiopathy, carotid artery stenosis and dissection, cavernous malformations, and arteriovenous malformations and fistulae.
Areas of interest include stroke syndromes of cryptogenic etiology, those associated with patent foramen ovale, cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy, and connective tissue disorders and thrombotic diatheses (venous and arterial).
Focus areas
Research funded by the National Institutes of Health has included:
- Natural history of patent foramen ovale.
- International study of unruptured intracranial aneurysms.
- Determining natural history and morphologic features predictive of higher-risk saccular aneurysms.
Significance to patient care
Patent foramen ovale is a hole in the heart that didn't close the way it should after birth. The hole is a small flaplike opening between the upper heart chambers, which are called the atria.
Patent foramen ovale is commonly found when performing a heart ultrasound, also known as an echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to create pictures of the heart and show blood flow through the heart and heart valves.
More than 25% of people have patent foramen ovale. The challenge is to determine whether it relates to stroke or is simply an innocent bystander.
High-resolution, noninvasive imaging, such as head magnetic resonance angiography and CT angiography, are finding intracranial aneurysms, which are bulges or ballooning in blood vessels in the brain. Head magnetic resonance angiography shows images of the brain's blood vessels, while CT angiography looks at the arteries that supply blood to the heart. It's important to guide patients to the best way to manage these findings, whether that's a conservative approach with follow-up imaging or treatment with interventional radiology or surgery.
Professional highlights
- Chair, Institutional Review Board, Mayo Clinic, 2014-present.
- Co-investigator, International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA) grant, 1991-2011.
- Principal investigator, Stroke Prevention: Assessment of Risk in a Community (SPARC), 1991-2000.
- Co-investigator, Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation (SPAF I, II, III), 1987-1997.
- Co-investigator, North America Carotid Symptomatic Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET), 1989.