View clinical trials related to Endothelial Dysfunction.
Filter by:Brain scans can help identify changes that appear to increase risk for cognitive decline and dementia. Some of these brain changes are thought to reflect actual damage to the small blood vessels that support normal brain function. This clinical trial will determine whether an omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) therapy can promote brain health by supporting the small blood vessels in the brain over 3 years in older adults at high risk for cognitive decline and dementia of Alzheimer's type.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of deaths in the Western world. Established risk factors include high LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Poor blood vessel health is considered a predictor of future CVD risk, but can be reversed. Several different measurements can be used to determine blood vessel health; such as blood pressure (BP), and newer techniques which measure blood flow through the arteries after a blood pressure cuff restricts blood flow for a few minutes in one arm. Flavonoids are compounds found in plant-based foods, and are associated with a reduced risk of CVD. From the previous studies, there is strong evidence that orange juice and citrus foods which have higher amount of specific citrus flavonoids improved cardiovascular risk factors such as BP and blood vessel health. Absorption of citrus flavonoids occurs in the colon after bacteria breakdown the forms found in food. After the flavonoids are absorbed into the blood they are modification by liver enzymes before they are excreted in the urine. A large range of citrus flavonoid have been found excreted in the urinary, ranging anywhere from 0-57% of the dose. Variation in the potential health effect may reflect the level of the citrus flavonoid absorbed, and this is not often considered in human studies. This study is a 4-week double-blinded, randomized, cross-over intervention trial using a commercially-available orange juice supplement and a placebo control. The aims of the study are to determine whether orange juice supplements reduce blood pressure and improve blood vessel health after 4 weeks. Furthermore, to determine if there is a relationship between absorption of flavonoids (as measured by urinary excretion) and changes in blood pressure or blood vessel health. The participants will need to attend 4 sessions on 4 separate study days, every 4 weeks for 12 weeks. On each study day they will have their weight, height, waist circumference, and blood pressure measured. A finger-prick blood sample, using a single-use lancet (Accu-Chek Safe T Pro Plus), will be taken to check the fasting blood glucose level. Blood flow in fingertips will be monitored before and after reducing blood flow in your forearm using a blood pressure cuff (called an EndoPAT). Participants will be asked to collect urine for 24 hr on each of the study days, and to consume the supplements provided daily for two sets of 4 weeks (there will be 4 weeks in the middle without any supplements). An improvement in blood pressure and/or blood flow will provide evidence that blood vessel health has improved through short-term (4 week) use of a citrus flavonoid supplement
Study aims and hypotheses are as follows: Primary Hypotheses: Compared to the neutral condition, the anger recall task will acutely induce endothelial dysfunction by impairing endothelium-dependent arterial vasodilation (Hypothesis 1a); increasing circulating levels of EC-derived microparticles (EMPs), a marker of EC injury (Hypothesis 1b); and reducing circulating levels of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), a marker of EC reparative capacity (Hypothesis 1c). Secondary Hypotheses: Compared to the neutral condition, the depressed mood and separately the anxiety recall tasks will acutely impair endothelium-dependent arterial vasodilation, increase circulating levels of EMPs, and reduce circulating levels of bone marrow-derived EPCs. There will be a relation of the level of self-reported anger, depressed mood, and anxiety with endothelial dysfunction.
Flow mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery has been widely used as a non-invasive measure of endothelial function. FMD independently predicts future cardiovascular events and can be readily influenced by pharmacological, dietary or lifestyle interventions. However, the interpretation of FMD data is currently importantly hampered by differences in measurement methodologies and analysis techniques between laboratories. These differences result in large variation of 'normal' values between laboratories, highlighting the need for adopting widely supported and evidence-based guidelines.
Irisin is a signaling protein that is released into the blood from skeletal muscle after proteolysis of the membrane protein FNDC5 . FNDC5, encoded by the Fndc5 gene. Irisin activity on subcutaneous white adipose tissue, both in culture and in vivo, stimulated UCP1 expression and induction of brown adipocytes in white adipose tissue depots, a process known as white fat ''browning''. Irisin increases total energy expenditure in animal models, and irisin expression in mice fed a high fat diet resulted in a significant improvement in glucose tolerance and a reduction in fasting insulin levels. Collectively, these data suggest that decreased serum irisin levels may be associated with the development of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Indeed, some studies showed that irisin levels were decreased in newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes. Endothelial dysfunction is an early physiological event in atherosclerosis. However, to date, no data are available on the relationship between circulating irisin and endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. Therefore, the investigators hypothesized that circulating irisin level is associated with endothelial dysfunction.
Patients with hyperuricemia were confirmed to have higher risks of cardiovascular disease, but the exact mechanism remained to be elucidated. Many connective tissue diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis are often associated with antiphospholipid antibodies-associated endothelial impairment. In the present study, the investigators will analyze the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies in the serum of the patients with gout/asymptomatic hyperuricemia, with a comparison to the patients of osteoarthritis but without hyperuricemia and gout. The investigators expect to find a correlation between these pathogenic antibody and those cardiovascular co-morbidities.
The objective is to demonstrate the effect of phenolic acids on endothelial function.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States with older age being a primary risk factor. The number of adults greater than age 65 years will almost double to 70 million by 2030, therefore identifying therapeutic strategies for treating or preventing age-related disorders in humans is of major biomedical importance. Cardiovascular aging, defined as a reduction in vascular and cardiac functions with normal aging, occurs even in the absence of CVD risk factors and overt CVD. A key feature of cardiovascular aging is stiffening of the large elastic central arteries such as the aorta. This is important because aortic stiffness directly contributes to clinical problems such as increased blood pressure, reduced blood flow to the heart muscle, and thickening of the heart muscle. Therefore, these clinical consequences are hypothesized to mediate a substantial proportion of the increase in CVD risk in older adults. However, effective drug treatments for aortic stiffness are not currently available and the biological reasons (mechanisms) involved in causing aortic stiffening remain undefined. In addition, the inability of smaller blood vessels to relax, impairment of the heart to relax during the filling phase of the heart cycle (i.e., diastole), and increased blood pressure variability, have all been linked to aortic stiffness. Furthermore, chronic low-grade inflammation with advancing age has been proposed to be a common mechanistic link (i.e., biological reason) between these reductions in cardiovascular function in older adults. Therefore, the investigators propose that inflammation could be a novel therapeutic target to treat cardiovascular aging in older adults. Our central hypothesis is that inflammation mediates the age-related deterioration in cardiovascular functions observed with advancing age through the development of oxidative stress (i.e., imbalance between damaging oxygen free radicals vs. protective antioxidants). Our hypothesis predicts that chronic inhibition of inflammation with Salsalate, an FDA-approved anti-inflammatory drug similar to aspirin that is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis pain and known to inhibit the 'master' regulator of inflammation in the cell (i.e., nuclear factor kappa B), will improve cardiovascular function in older adults. In addition, the investigators hypothesize that the mechanism for the improvement in cardiovascular function during inhibition of inflammation will be by suppressing oxidative stress. To test our hypothesis, the investigators will randomize older healthy adults (age 50-79 years) to 3 g/day of salsalate or placebo (i.e., pill with inactive substance) pills for 4 weeks and have cardiovascular function measured at baseline and again after 4 weeks.
The aim of this study is to examine how effective CPAP treatment and treatment with nebivolol are respectively on reducing blood pressure and on endothelial dysfunction in patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension.
The aim of this study is to explore whether and how high circulating levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in obese and overweight children may contribute to impair adiponectin (Ad) production, release and vascular activity