View clinical trials related to Endothelial Dysfunction.
Filter by:In a young and healthy person, the production of nitric oxide (NO) by the endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessel, is responsible for a) the ability of the blood vessel to dilate so it can increase its blood flow and b) act as an anti-clotting product to prevent blood clotting in those vessels. Under physiological stress either due to the development of a disease such as diabetes or simply from aging, the endothelial cells can be impacted and become dysfunctional thereby impairing their ability to make NO and even promote the development of blood clots. When such endothelial dysfunction occurs, it may be a precursor for the future development of cardiovascular (CV) disease like hypertension or even coronary artery disease later on in life in these patients. Therefore, the ability to somehow enhance the local production or availability of NO within such affected blood vessels in patients identified as prone to endothelial dysfunction could play a positive role in either preventing or delaying the onset of endothelial dysfunction and subsequent CV disease in such patients. COMP-4 is a safe, clinically available, well tolerated oral supplement that has been shown in the lab to increase NO production in a number of differing tissues including human vascular endothelial cells. In this proposed human study, the investigators plan on recruiting healthy, young participants willing to take COMP-4 for a 14 day period in whom the investigators will measure in a non-invasive way - by the use of ultrasound - the effect of COMP-4 on its ability to improve blood flow in one of the major blood vessels of the upper arm. In addition, the investigators will also determine whether COMP-4 will be capable of lowering in the blood the levels of two of the most studied inflammatory markers associated with endothelial dysfunction, IL-8 and PAI-1.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease of the lungs that makes it hard for people to breath. Those with COPD spend considerably more time sitting and lying and less time performing physical activity than healthy individuals. Those who are the most sedentary have a greater risk of heart and blood vessel disease, which may lead to an early death. This project will investigate the effect of sitting still for 3 hours on blood vessel health in individuals with COPD. It will also investigate whether breaking up the amount of time patients sit with regular short bouts of walking (5 minutes each hour) at a comfortable pace chosen by the patient can have a positive effect on maintaining the health of their blood vessels. It is hypothesized that blood vessel health will be worse after 3 hours of sitting compared to when the sitting is broken up by short bouts of walking.
Investigation of the effect of mechanical ventilation on biomarkers of microvascular damage
The endothelium is a semipermeable monolayer of endothelial cells (EC) organized as a complex biological interface that separates all tissues from circulating blood. Any anti-neoplastic or immune therapy will directly challenge the endothelial layer, with a substantial risk of damaging EC or exacerbating pre-existing endothelial cell dysfunction. In our previous researchs the concepts of "endothelial vulnerability" and "endothelial cell dysfunction" for initial diagnosis of patients with hematological disorders, e.g. myelodysplastic syndromes as well as COVID-19 patients were designed. The novel and pre-existing endothelial vulnerability markers and markers of endothelial cell dysfunction or damage such as endothelial activation and stress index (EASIX) were also defined, validated and their prognostic role for treatment-related mortality and for a variety of allo- and CART-specific endothelial complications were established. However, the exact relationship of EASIX and other markers with endothelial cell biology are not known and require further clarification. Primary aims are to demonstrate that EASIX represents a systemic response of the organism to local or systemic loss of endothelial glycocalyx as visualized by sublingual microscopy and to establish EASIX, biomarkers and in vivo microscopy of sublingual and (in perspective) recto-sigmoidal capillary beds as prognostic markers of response to anti-neoplastic therapy, treatment-related toxicity and mortality (TRM) and overall survival (OS). Secondary objectives include the creation of a comprehensive database with information on endothelial, clinical, pathological and molecular characteristics of patients with hematological malignancies as well as the establishment of a repository of biospecimens for endothelial marker analyses from patients with hematological malignancies. We hypothesize that reduced endothelial glycocalyx thickness will permit direct interactions of leukocytes and platelets with endothelial cells, resulting in cellular activation (increased LDH), loss of platelets due to activation and microembolism, and ensuing kidney damage. As a first prospective analysis, we will answer the question if EASIX and serum endothelial biomarkers correlate with sublingual glycocalyx thickness, and if these parameters combine to predict outcome after anti-neoplastic therapy including alloSCT and CART.
COVID-19 disease (coronavirus disease 2019) primarily affects the respiratory system, using the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor. However, there is increasing evidence that COVID-19 can also affect the heart (myocardial injury, myocarditis, arrhythmias) and the vascular system, effects that may worsen the clinical outcome of patients. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of COVID-19 on the patients' endothelial function, during the acute phase of the disease (inpatient), shortly after recovery (2 months) and in the mid-term (6 months). Evaluation of endothelial function will be performed non-invasively by the method of Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (PAT) using the EndoPAT2000 system (Itamar Medical, Israel). This is a prospective, case-controlled, single-center clinical observational study. The study will include adult patients who developed COVID-19 disease for whom admission for hospitalization was required, while the control group will consist of healthy volunteers matched for age, gender and cardiovascular risk factors. Patients enrolled in the study will undergo the following visits: - Visit 1: Hospitalization - Visit 2: 2 months after discharge - Visit 3: 6 months after discharge - Visit 4: 1 year after discharge Patients will be subjected to measurement of the reactive hyperemia index with the EndoPAT2000 system in Visits 1, 2 and 3. The aim of the study is to compare the endothelial function between the two groups (COVID-19 vs. Controls).
The investigators will test the hypothesis that, in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonism (GLP-1RA, i.e. dulaglutide) and exercise training each enhance insulin-mediated skeletal muscle microvascular perfusion via attenuating endothelial oxidative stress and thereby improving endothelial function.
Systemic arterial hypertension is a serious health problem worldwide. In some cases, it can phenotypically present as resistant arterial hypertension, which consists of blood pressure levels outside the treatment goals in patients using three or more classes of antihypertensive drugs, one of which is preferably a thiazide diuretic. Resistant hypertension contributes to a 47% higher risk of developing cardiovascular events when compared to patients with non-resistant hypertension. It is known that the microcirculation plays a relevant role in the pathophysiology of arterial hypertension. Furthermore, it is known that the cutaneous microvascular network is an adequate model and that it reflects the systemic microcirculation. In this sense, the present research proposes the study of cutaneous capillary density - through high resolution intravital microscopy - and of the endothelium-dependent and independent microvascular vasodilator response - by the speckle laser flowmetry method coupled to a pharmacological system of micro- iontophoresis - in patients diagnosed with resistant hypertension, with the aim of identifying changes in comparison with patients with non-resistant hypertension and normotensive individuals. Additionally, the evaluation of the association between systemic microvascular function and the presence of target organ lesions in this population may indicate that this is a new non-invasive way of stratifying cardiovascular risk in these individuals.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD risk factors such as high blood pressure (BP) are disproportionately higher among night shift workers, including those who work in public safety and healthcare. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess feasibility of collecting data germane to key indicators of cardiovascular health (i.e., ambulatory blood pressure) repeatedly during a simulated night shift protocol. The primary outcome measure will be the number of participants for which at least 70% of required ambulatory BP measures were collected. A result of at least 10 participants/subjects will be considered feasible.
The glycocalyx is a layer of macromolecules that covers the luminal surface of the endothelium, playing an important role in vascular homeostasis. Several studies have shown that in conditions of sepsis there is a degradation of the glycocalyx mediated by inflammatory mechanisms, releasing its components into the bloodstream. These glycocalyx fragments can be measured in blood plasma, showing a correlation between these markers and organ dysfunction, severity and mortality in sepsis situations. However, despite the great interest in glycocalyx biomarkers, their values in patients undergoing colorectal surgery are not well known. Therefore, verifying whether plasma levels of glycocalyx damage markers increase in the perioperative period of colorectal surgery is of great interest at the pathophysiological and clinical level, since the correlation of these markers with postoperative clinical evolution is unknown. In this study we want to determine the plasma levels of Heparan-sulphate and Syndecan-1, two of the most important constituents of the glycocalyx, and perform several measurements to form a "time course" of the plasma levels of these markers, in order to compare the different subgroups of patients undergoing colorectal surgery based on their clinical and surgical characteristics.
People with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) develop high blood pressure and kidney disease. Previous studies have shown that a commonly occurring chemical, nitric oxide (NO), is reduced in ADPKD, and may contribute, in part, to high blood pressure in this condition. Nitrate is found in high concentrations naturally in beetroots, and increases NO. The aim of this study is to determine if beetroot juice reduces blood pressure in hypertensive people with ADPKD.