View clinical trials related to Autonomic Imbalance.
Filter by:This research has two main specific aims. First, a commercially-available stimulator will be utilized to assess the effect of low-level electromagnetic field (EMF) stimulation on atrial fibrillation (AF) inducibility in patients with paroxysmal AF presenting for catheter ablation as compared to sham stimulation. We hypothesize a reduction in AF inducibility in patients treated with EMF stimulation. Second, we aim to assess for the effect of low-level EMF on level of systemic inflammatory mediators. We hypothesize a reduction in the level of the inflammatory mediator tissue necrosis factor (TNF)-α in patients treated with EMF stimulation as compared to sham stimulation. The long-term objective of this research is to develop low-level EMF as a therapeutic alternative for patients with AF, and this research will help to determine the efficacy of low-level pulsed EMF in this regard.
This study evaluates the effects of Horner's syndrome on cardiac autonomic nervous activity after interscalene brachial plexus block. Cardiac autonomic nervous activity and bilateral pupil diameters will be measured in a scotopic light condition, 30 minutes after interscalene brachial plexus block under ultrasound guidance and 15 minutes after the subsequent sitting position.
Recent evidence suggests that there is a directly proportional relationship between diets with a high concentration of antioxidants and the reduction of blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular events. However, there is a gap with regard to research on the effects of these diets on vascular function, especially in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of antioxidant supplementation through the consumption of blueberry, cranberry and pomegranate extract capsules (1 of each per day), the effect of the autonomic balance in hypertensive and normotensive adults.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) constitutes a major public health burden. The incidence of PAD increases with age and is associated with other comorbid cardiovascular disorders. Atherosclerosis which underlies PAD is associated with increased arterial stiffness and an enhanced inflammatory state as evidenced by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers. One the earliest signs of cardiovascular disease is endothelial dysfunction which is characterized by a decreased vasodilatory capacity of the vascular endothelium and this lesion predates the development of clinical atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction has been shown to be widely prevalent in PAD. It is postulated that endothelial dysfunction is due to enhanced sympathetic drive, diminished parasympathetic drive, chronic inflammatory state all of which leads to reduced nitric oxide synthase activity in the vascular endothelium with subsequent loss of vasodilatory capacity. Studies have shown endothelial dysfunction to be reversible with pharmaco-therapeutic interventions, though these interventions are associated with their own adverse effects. Stimulation of Vagal nerve increases the parasympathetic activity while suppressing sympathetic drive, decreases inflammation and enhancing nitric oxide synthase activity. Recent experimental and clinical data suggest that low-level tragus nerve stimulation (by stimulating the auricular branch of the vagus nerve located at the tragus of the external ear) may produce the same desired neuromodulator effect compared to vagus nerve stimulation. It is however unknown if Transcutaneous Vagal Stimulation (TVS) would lead to improved endothelial function as measured by flow mediated dilatation (FMD) and laser speckle contrast imaging(LSCI), a non-invasive method of measuring endothelial function or decrease in arterial stiffness as measured by Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA), in patients with PAD. The objective of this study is to determine the impact of TVS on endothelial dysfunction as measured by FMD & LSCI and arterial stiffness. Study population will include patients with established diagnosis of PAD. After performing baseline FMD, LSCI and PWA patients will be randomized to TVS and sham stimulation with cross over. The patient randomized to TVS stimulation will obtain stimulation for 1 hour followed by measurement of FMD,LSCI and PWA. There will be a washout period of at least 24 hours with patient crossing over to the other arms thus serving as their self-control.
The study aimed to investigate whether transcranial direct current stimulation could modify auditory hallucination, insight, neurocognitive function, heart rate variability, psychosocial functioning and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.
Patients with Raynaud's disease have an increased tendency of chest pain and migraine, and studies indicate that the disease might be associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, a certain hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system has been demonstrated in these patients. Hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system is known to cause decreasing heart function, regardless of the underlying disease. The cardiac autonomic nervous function and thermographic parameters will be assessed in patients with primary and secondary Raynaud's phenomenon and glaucoma as well as in patients diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction such as diabetics and patients with Parkinson's disease in order to compare the function of the cardiac autonomic nervous system and the peripheral response to cold exposure. Potentially, this will lead to a better understanding of the cardiac autonomic nervous function in Raynaud's phenomenon. Moreover, it might give rise to a new perception of the condition and its association to cardiovascular disease. At the Department of Clinical Physiology, the current method of detecting Raynaud's phenomenon is time-consuming and unpleasant to the patient due to cooling for several minutes. Another aim of the PhD study is to implement infrared thermography as a gentler and possibly more sensitive method to replace the currently applied method. The project will also include an epidemiological study based on data obtained from the National Patient Registry, among others. Raynaud's phenomenon will be paired with diagnostic codes of conditions such as diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, glaucoma, and cardiovascular disease.
Anesthesia in the modern age is at least a two-drug process consisting of an opioid and a sedative hypnotic (e.g., fentanyl and propofol in combination, among others). Therefore, it is important to understand the interaction pharmacodynamics of these agents as they are used clinically. A good method for visualizing the pharmacodynamic interaction behavior of drug combinations is through response surface models. Unlike traditional isobolograms that represent the concentrations of two agents that combine to produce a single degree of drug effect, response surface models characterize the complete spectrum of interaction between two or more agents for all possible levels of concentration and effect. The investigators try to use the response surface model to evaluate the effect of anesthetic combination of autonomic system.
The autonomic nervous system plays an important role in the precipitation of AF in structurally-abnormal hearts. Restoration of autonomic imbalance may therefore prevent new-onset AF. Renal artery denervation (RDN) is a novel percutaneous procedure that uses radio-frequency energy to destroy the sympathetic renal nerves. Symplicity 1 and -2 studies have shown that RDN effectively reduces blood pressure in up to 80% of treated patients. LVH regression and improvement of diastolic dysfunction follow as a consequence of afterload reduction and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system modulation. RDN may thus also reduce intra-atrial pressure resulting in less stretch of the pulmonary venous ostia where most ectopic AF-foci originate. Hypothesis: RDN restores autonomic imbalance in HTHD and lowers intra-atrial pressure by reducing afterload. These synergistic mechanisms may prevent new-onset AF.