Conclusion
BBB breakdown poses increased propensity for blood to enter the ventricles which significantly increases astrocyte attachment. Since we know astrocytes play a major role in shunt obstruction and failure of shunts used to treat hydrocephalus, this initial study shows the necessity of future work examining the role blood products play in the shunted pathology of hydrocephalus and pushes us to examine ways in which we can inhibit BBB permeability. Future work will examine the rates of shunt insertion and correlated BBB breakdown. Further exploration into this topic will also include an analysis of the role of ependymal cells when exposed to blood following breaking of the BBB.