Collaboration with Prof Yuri Moskalenko at the Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, St Petersburg, Russia

In 2004, Amanda started a long-term collaboration with Prof Yuri Moskalenko, a world-recognized pioneer in cerebral circulation. This long-standing collaboration investigates cerebral circulation, cranial compliance, and cognitive decline, as well as the interrelationships between them and how they can be changed by trepanation. In 2007 they published a study of the effect of medically induced craniotomy on the dynamics of cerebral blood flow and movement of cerebrospinal fluid. They also began developing a non-invasive Cranial Compliance Monitor (CCM).

The study published in 2007 showed changes in both cerebral blood flow and movement of cerebrospinal fluid after medically induced craniotomy. The net effect appeared to be beneficial, with improved cranial compliance in the form of more efficient blood flow to the brain. Development of the Cranial Compliance Monitor has also been a major breakthrough because poor cerebral circulation is linked to age-related cognitive decline and plays a role in major illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This long-term collaboration has produced many peer-reviewed papers and presentations on how these dynamics change with age, and how they relate to alterations in cognition and brain health, with particular reference to vascular forms of dementia. The Beckley Foundation now plans to enable the research to continue in the UK.

Research Team and Institution

The Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry is a leading biological sciences centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Professor Yuri Evgenievich Moskalenko is a fellow of the Russian Academy of Science and the International Academy of Astronautics. He studied in the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute and obtained a medical degree from the Leningrad Medical Institute in 1959. In 1962 he founded the laboratory of space physiology at the Sechenov Institute and is still the principal investigator and head of this laboratory. He is also an honorary doctor of osteopathy and a world leading expert in cranial osteopathy. His main research interests are the physiological mechanisms of cerebral circulation, studying both cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and blood supply. He is the author of more than 250 publications, including 6 monographs.