In this webinar Connar Westgate, PhD, discusses his research using telemetry to record chronic intracranial pressure in freely moving rodents.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Why is intracranial pressure (ICP) an important physiological parameter to understand?
- What are the benefits of telemetric ICP recording vs traditional ICP recording methods?
- Understand what normal ICP is in rats and how this differs from humans.
- How do different physiological states alter ICP?
- Do current pharmacotherapeutic drugs to reduce ICP pharmacologically work?
Abstract:
Intracranial pressure (ICP) is a fundamental physiological parameter that is vital for maintaining a normal central nervous system function. Despite the importance of ICP, it is poorly understood and under-researched. Consequently, current treatments for raised ICP are either highly invasive neurosurgeries or non-specific treatments with broad side effect profiles. Moreover, the interplay between ICP and other physiological parameters is unclear. More research is required to understand the regulation of ICP, the role of different physiological states and the effect of xenobiotics on ICP.
In this webinar, Dr. Westgate will describe his work understanding rodent ICP under different physiological states. This will include the importance of measuring ICP in a truly physiological setting - unhindered by tethering, sedation, and anesthesia - and the interaction between ICP and obesity. Additionally, he will review how it is critical to go beyond absolute ICP measurements, but also investigate ICP feature analysis in a clinically relevant manner when assessing drugs proposed to modulate ICP.
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About the speakers:
Connar Westgate, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow, Danish Headache Center
Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, University of Copenhagen
Dr. Connar Westgate completed his BMedSc and Ph.D. studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. His Ph.D. focused on phenotyping the endocrinology and metabolism of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. In 2019 Connar was awarded an International Headache Society post-doctoral fellowship, taking him to the Danish Headache Center to investigate pharmacological and physiological manipulation of intracranial pressure with a focus on understanding the pathophysiology of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Here, he has gained extensive experience in the rat in vivo intracranial pressure telemetry and headache behavior models and continuing his interest in endocrinology. His work has contributed to publications including clinical trials, disease phenotyping, and basic research. His future work is focused on understanding the interplay between intracranial pressure and headache, funded by a Lundbeck Foundation post-doctoral fellowship.