Obstetrics & Gynaecology
 

Lesia Kurlak

Clinical Trial Manager in Stroke medicine, main responsibility MAPS-2, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

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Biography

I am a clinical trial manager responsible for overseeing MAPS-2 (Metoclopramide for Avoiding Pneumonia after Stroke): a single-blind, randomized controlled trial of metoclopramide for the prevention of pneumonia in patients with dysphagia after an acute stroke.

Research Summary

Currently, I am involved in MAPS-2 (Metoclopramide for Avoiding Pneumonia after Stroke): a single-blind, randomized controlled trial of metoclopramide for the prevention of pneumonia in patients with… read more

Recent Publications

Dr Lesia Kurlak, Research Fellow in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the City Hospital Campus, has been awarded a Practical Skills Grant from the Society for Endocrinology (www.endocrinology.org) to participate in the 10th Annual Human Placenta Workshop at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. This unique, week-long, workshop is highly specialised in content, covering a wide range of skills in placentology: it provides an exceptional opportunity to work alongside esteemed experts in the field and forge strong international collaborations.

Current Research

Currently, I am involved in MAPS-2 (Metoclopramide for Avoiding Pneumonia after Stroke): a single-blind, randomized controlled trial of metoclopramide for the prevention of pneumonia in patients with dysphagia after an acute stroke.

Past Research

My past research was focussed on the pathophysiology of hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, in particular pre-eclampsia, and its associated higher risk of accelerated cardiovascular aging. Pre-eclampsia remains a common disorder in pregnancy, affecting 3-5% of all UK pregnancies. It is a pregnancy-specific and multi-systemic disorder in which a major contributing role is played by placental dysfunction. This results in systemic endothelial dysfunction which clinically manifests as hypertension with associated kidney, liver and neurological complications. Excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) initiates a cascade of events in susceptible individuals leading to maternal oxidative stress as well as endothelial cell dysfunction. The redox balance markedly influences the capacity to generate angiotensin I from angiotensinogen, and hence the potent vasoconstrictor angiotensin II.

A systematic review with meta-analyses including than 3 million women (Bellamy et al), has found that women with a history of pre-eclampsia have a 3.7 higher risk of hypertension and 1.8 increased risk of stroke in later life. The severity of pre-eclampsia is associated with the severity of cardiovascular diseases later in life.

The renin-angiotensin system, which plays a major role in the pathogenesis of hypertension also affects platelet function through its main mediator angiotensin II.

I have previously also studied platelet activation in newborn infants and adults to investigate whether measureable differences in aggregation are related to the physical properties of the outer plasma membrane of these blood cells. Membrane fluidity was analysed using the characteristic of fluorescence anisotropy; whilst the fatty acid composition of platelet membrane was assessed by Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectroscopy (GCMS).

Obstetrics & Gynaecology

School of Medicine
The University of Nottingham
Queen's Medical Centre, D Floor, East Block
Nottingham, NG7 2UH


telephone: +44 (0) 115 823 1000
email:anne.whitchurch@nottingham.ac.uk