The One Health Stroke project
We are all familiar with strokes. Ischemic stroke—caused by a blocked artery that suddenly deprives part of the brain of oxygen and energy—is by far the most common type. Even when the clot is removed in time, half of human patients suffer from severe, irreversible aftereffects. At the VetAgro Sup veterinary teaching hospital, we conducted a prospective pilot study offering MRI scans to dogs presenting with neurological symptoms suggestive of a stroke. The majority of these canine patients made a good recovery following medical treatment. The reason for this difference in recovery outcomes between dogs and humans is not yet understood.
The OneHealth Stroke project aims to better predict post-stroke outcomes by studying them in dogs. Our multidisciplinary team has identified three challenges:
- The first aspect is technological and medical. We will conduct a veterinary clinical research study with two French biomedical companies, utilizing innovative, simultaneous MRI and EEG technologies. We hope to offer a more precise diagnosis during the acute phase of stroke in dogs.
- The second aspect addresses psychosocial and economic barriers. The lack of awareness regarding strokes in our pets stems primarily from the fact that veterinarians do not offer a diagnosis for the condition. We aim to gain a better understanding of the obstacles involved.
- The third component falls within the realm of neuroscience. To understand why older dogs—despite sharing the same risk factors as humans—recover much better, we will combine MRI, EEG, and behavioral data using image analysis tools and artificial intelligence.
Project leaders:
Céline POUZOT-NEVORET
Céline POUZOT-NEVORET is a professor at VetAgro Sup and heads the SIAMU—the emergency, resuscitation, and intensive care unit of the veterinary teaching hospital. Within the unit and the laboratoire APCSe, she has implemented several innovative intensive care protocols—such as high-flow oxygen therapy for dogs and cats and physiotherapy for dyspneic dogs—as well as diagnostic methods like thermography for diagnosing thromboembolism in cats and hemostasis assessment in dogs with leptospirosis.
Catherine ESCRIOU
Catherine ESCRIOU is Head of the Neurology Service at the VetAgro Sup Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She specializes in the clinical phenotypic characterization of emerging neurological diseases in dogs, as well as canine epilepsy and genetic disorders. She develops methods for functional assessment in dogs and cats (EEG, EMG) and utilizes MRI for diagnosing neurological diseases in veterinary medicine. By analyzing comorbidities and behavior, she implements personalized care plans for canine patients.
Emmanuelle CANET-SOULAS
Emmanuelle CANET-SOULAS is a professor of physiology at Lyon 1 Université and a specialist in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular pathologies at the CarMeN laboratory (Cardiovascular, Metabolism, Diabetology, and Nutrition). Notably, within the framework of the RHU Marvelous and the CMRO2 project, she has developed multimodal imaging techniques to study ischemic stroke, aiming to better understand post-stroke functional recovery and offer patient-specific care.
