Led by the Bordeaux University Hospital, the development programme “VBHI – BrainVasc Cohort & Biobank”, under the scientific direction of Prof Igor Sibon, alongside Prof Thierry Couffinhal and Prof Stéphanie Debette—respectively Scientific Co-Director and Head of Omics—began on 6 October and has already enrolled 100 participants. Overview.
What is BrainVasc and why was it created?
The “VBHI – BrainVasc Cohort & Biobank” development programme, also referred to as the BrainVasc cohort, the BrainVasc study, or the BrainVasc research project, aims to build a cohort of 10,000 participants who will be followed for three years.
But what is a cohort?
A cohort is a group of individuals monitored over time as part of a research study. This group is selected based on a shared characteristic, such as an event occurring within a defined period (for example, a disease), or one or more common features.
Cohort studies involve observing the occurrence of health events within this population over several years. This enables researchers to assess links between various factors—demographic, biological, behavioural, environmental, genetic, and so on—and the development of health outcomes.
In practical terms, the BrainVasc study will help improve understanding of the causes and progression of cerebral small vessel disease. The goal is to identify risk factors, whether biological or environmental—meaning the individual and contextual characteristics that increase the likelihood of a stroke. This will support the development of personalised prevention strategies to protect brain health.
Why is BrainVasc needed?
Cerebral small vessel disease can lead to strokes and certain forms of dementia. These conditions affect millions of people worldwide and are a leading cause of disability and loss of independence, particularly among older adults.
To better understand cerebral small vessel disease and its impact, it is essential to study the health status of affected patients. This is the reason the BrainVasc cohort was created. The programme will support the development of one of the largest databases of patients with, or at high risk of, cerebrovascular disease.
What are the expected benefits of this study?
At a population level, the anticipated benefits are wide-ranging.
The BrainVasc cohort study will allow:
- Advancement of knowledge on cerebrovascular diseases, notably through the identification of new diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers:
- Biomarkers potentially linked to severity markers of cerebral small vessel disease (ideally enabling earlier, easier diagnosis without the need for imaging, and therefore at lower cost).
- Biomarkers possibly associated with disease progression, enabling better outcome prediction.
- Creation of a world-leading bioresource, combining multi-omic* data with brain imaging, allowing future clinical trials guided by comprehensive molecular analyses.
From a scientific research perspective, follow-up of the BrainVasc cohort is expected to deliver:
- Improved:
- understanding of the causes of cerebral small vessel disease,
- description of its clinical presentation,
- prediction of patient outcomes and clinical progression.
- Development of polygenic risk scores and molecular or imaging biomarkers to enable personalised clinical care.
- Identification of new targets for personalised treatments.
* Omics refers to scientific disciplines that analyse all components of a biological system, such as a cell, tissue, or organism. Rather than focusing on a single gene or protein, omics examines entire networks of biological elements to understand how they interact. Multi-omic data combines several strands of omics analysis, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics.
How is the BrainVasc study carried out in practice?
The BrainVasc study is based on routinely collected clinical care data from patients admitted for a vascular assessment within the Neurovascular Unit at the Bordeaux University Hospital, as well as in cardiology departments (including hypertension management and arteriosclerosis prevention services).
From the point of inclusion onwards, all past and future health data collected as part of clinical care may be re-used for research, provided patients have been informed and have not expressed opposition (as is the case for those enrolled in BrainVasc). These clinical care data are stored in the Bordeaux University Hospital Health Data Warehouse.
During routine blood tests carried out at CHU de Bordeaux or in community laboratories, small residual quantities of blood may remain once all prescribed and necessary biological analyses have been completed. This is referred to as a blood test care remainder.
This remainder may then:
- be destroyed (as is most often the case),
- or used for research purposes—only if patients have been informed and have not objected (which applies to BrainVasc participants).
This approach avoids additional procedures and enables the use of previously collected samples while fully upholding patient rights.
Blood test care remainders will be used to establish a biological sample collection, linked to the Bordeaux University Hospital Health Data Warehouse. They will undergo multi-omic analyses (genetics, metabolomics, and proteomics).
Participants will continue to receive standardised clinical care follow-up during routine, structured consultations over a three-year period.
In a second phase, all participants may be invited to take part in interventional research studies, which may include:
- a neuropsychological assessment,
- functional evaluations (balance tests, walking speed, gait analysis, environmental exposure assessment—exposome),
- genetic analyses,
- an ophthalmological assessment.
Patients who choose to take part in this more interventional research will directly benefit from enhanced overall clinical care through support from specialists in cerebral vascular health.
They may also be contacted for future innovative therapeutic trials (including personalised prevention and precision medicine studies).
How to take part?
Patients are informed directly by their medical care team at the Bordeaux University Hospital. To be eligible for inclusion, patients must meet key criteria, including:
- be over 18 years of age,
- not have objected to use of their clinical data or care remainders,
- have a neurovascular condition (stroke, covert cerebral small vessel disease, or other cerebrovascular lesions such as cervical artery dissection or cavernoma),
- be admitted to or followed by the Neurovascular Unit, the Transient Ischaemic Attack Clinic, the Centre for Atherosclerosis Exploration, Prevention and Treatment (CEPTA), or the Clinical Neurodegenerative Diseases Institute (IMNc) at CHU de Bordeaux,
- have undergone brain MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging),
- have completed a vascular biological work-up analysed at CHU de Bordeaux.
Additionally, all Bordeaux University Hospital patients receive general information stating that their health data and biological samples may be used for research. Individual preferences are recorded through the “One Shot” questionnaire, in which patients can express opposition, making their data inaccessible for secondary use.
Important: All identifiable personal data, including imaging, are pseudonymised** to ensure confidentiality.
**Pseudonymisation replaces identifying details with unique codes to protect privacy. Researchers only access coded data, not names.
Find out more :
- Information relating to this research project is also available via the Bordeaux University Hospital Transparency Portal.
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