2003 Young Clinician Investigator

Judy Huang, MD
Johns Hopkins

The Effects of Estrogen on Matrix Metalloproteinase-mediated Inflammatory Injury in Stroke

Although estrogen has potent neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemia, its impact upon inflammatory mechanisms of tissue damage remain unclear. The effects of estrogen on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity following reperfused cerebral ischemia created by intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion will be examined, as these proteases are key extracellular mediators of blood brain barrier breakdown. The influence of estrogen on MMP-2 and MMP-9 mediated injury will be compared in males, females, ovariectomized females, and ovariectomized females given exogenous estrogen. This will provide additional insights into how estrogen effectively mediates neuroprote4ction while paradoxically; estrogen-replacement therapy has been shown to increase stroke risk in post-menopausal women. This may lead to a novel pharmacologic strategy of combining an anti-inflammatory agent with hormonal replacement in stroke prevention.

Click here to view  Final Report  (PDF 65KB)

About Judy Huang

Judy Huang, MD was born in Taipei, Taiwan and grew up in New York City. Dr. Huang's strong interests in neuroscience were kindled as an undergraduate at Brown University and continued during medical school at the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia University. In 2002, she completed her neurosurgical training at the Neurological Institute of Columbia University under the direction of Dr. Robert Solomon. During residency, her interests in the pathophysiology of stroke were fostered under the exceptional guidance of Dr. E. Sander Connolly, Jr. and Dr. David Pinsky, leading to publications in Science, Stroke, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Since joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 2002, Dr. Huang maintains an active general neurosurgical practice with an emphasis on cerebrovascular neurosurgery.