Key Additions Extend Foundation’s Global Reach; Will Support the Organization’s Disease Education Efforts and Research Initiatives Aimed at Preventing Ruptures and Broadening Treatment Options

HANOVER, Mass., Jan. 10, 2024  /PRNewswire/ — The Brain Aneurysm Foundation (BAF), the leading advocacy organization supporting education, research, and policy to transform the treatment of brain aneurysms, today announced it has appointed to its Medical Advisory Board Carlos Baccin, M.D., an interventional neuroradiologist and Director of the Institute of Radiology and NeuroIntervention in São Paulo, Brazil, and Nima Etminan, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at University Hospital Mannheim, in Germany.

The BAF’s medical advisory board plays a central role in supporting the Foundation’s education and research initiatives, providing new data to better understand the causes of brain aneurysms and insights into scientific advances and innovations that may have the greatest patient impact. It is estimated that one in fifty people in the US has a brain aneurysm, with more than 30,000 people suffering from ruptures annually, of which half are fatal. Worldwide, there are close to 500,000 deaths each year from brain aneurysms, half of which occur in people under the age of 50.

“We are thrilled to have these distinguished leaders join the BAF, and I expect we will benefit greatly from their decades of experience as we work to build awareness for the disease and target promising areas of research where our funding can have the greatest impact,” said Christine Buckley, executive director of the BAF. “I look forward to broadening our advocacy work globally and to provide education and support to individuals, families, and those on the front lines of patient care.” 

Dr. Baccin is a senior member of the World Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (WFITN) and the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery (SNIS) and an associate member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). He received his training in interventional radiology at Columbia Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital and in interventional neuroradiology at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital. He was on the Neurosurgery faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and was an instructor in Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School.

“It is an honor to join the BAF’s medical advisory board, and I believe our efforts will have an important impact in Brazil and globally as we promote awareness and education and strengthen partnerships between patients, physicians, healthcare professionals, and researchers,” said Dr. Baccin. “I have long been impressed by the educational work of the BAF and its unparalleled support for potential ground-breaking research projects.”

Dr. Etminan is clinically specialized in cerebrovascular surgery and skull-base surgery, and his research is focused on unruptured intracranial aneurysms, including novel strategies for assessment and treatment. He is also an investigator for clinical studies on aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. He is the current chair of the European Stroke Organization Guideline (ESO) group on Management of aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, and recently co-chaired the ESO guideline for the management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Dr. Etminan has published over 120 papers in leading medical journals, primarily in the field of unruptured intracranial aneurysms or aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

“I believe the experience, network, and infrastructure of the BAF makes them a key partner in our ongoing and future efforts in providing knowledge and raising awareness for aneurysm patients and their burden in Europe and Germany,” Dr. Etminan added.

A brain aneurysm is a weak, bulging area in an artery in the brain that, in some instances, can rupture. Blood then spills into the space between the skull and the brain, which is a serious type of stroke known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage. While brain aneurysms are most prevalent in people ages 35 to 60, they can also occur in children. Women over the age of 55 have a higher risk of brain aneurysm rupture than men and are generally at greater risk. Brain aneurysms are also seen at higher rates in African American populations.