A Cypriot neurologist based in the United States has secured $9 million in international funding for a major research initiative aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of a brain disease linked to strokes and dementia.

The award, announced on Tuesday, was granted to assistant professor of neurology at Boston University medical centre Dr Andreas Charidimou, by the Leducq Foundation through its ‘International Networks of Excellence’ programme.

The funding will support the five-year ‘TRAFFIC’ project, a new international research network focused on cerebral amyloid angiopathy, commonly known as CAA.

The condition affects the small blood vessels of the brain and is most often found in older people.

It occurs when a protein called amyloid builds up in the walls of blood vessels, making them weaker and more vulnerable to damage.

CAA is a major cause of haemorrhagic strokes and is also closely associated with memory loss, cognitive decline and forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

There are currently no treatments specifically designed to target the disease.

“CAA is one of the most common conditions affecting the ageing brain, but there are still significant unanswered questions about how it develops and progresses,” Dr Charidimou said.

“Through TRAFFIC, we are bringing together scientists with complementary expertise in clinical neurology, molecular biology and experimental research, with the aim of creating the basis for better diagnosis, future treatments and training the next generation of researchers in the field,” he added.

The TRAFFIC network will bring together researchers from leading institutions in the US and Europe to improve understanding of how the condition develops and progresses.

Scientists will combine advanced brain imaging, laboratory research and patient data to identify earlier and more accurate ways of diagnosing the disease, while laying the groundwork for future treatments.

The network will be coordinated by Boston University and Radboud University Medical Center and includes researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute in Barcelona, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg and the University of Rhode Island.