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2 active trials for Vascular Endothelium

Healthy Age-dependent Reference Values for Microvascular Structure and Function

The greatest challenge in our ageing society are cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, heart attack, peripheral artery disease of the legs with non-healing wounds (ulcers), or diabetes. How healthy ageing affects the smallest blood vessels (microcirculation) and is not well understood. One reason for this is that no generally available medical instrument has the resolution to study the microcirculation. The recently developed optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), currently mainly used by eye doctors, is able to visualise the microcirculation. We have developed an automated software (OCTAVA) to determine metrics to characterise the microcirculation on the layers of density, diameter and tortuosity. In the current study we aim at providing reference values of these metrics in hands and feet of healthy people according to age together with macrovascular function in arms and legs.

Start: May 2021

Targeting Oxidative Stress to Prevent Vascular and Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction During Disuse

Prolonged periods of reduced activity are associated with decreased vascular function and muscle atrophy. Physical inactivity due to acute hospitalization is also associated with impaired recovery, hospital readmission, and increased mortality. Older adults are a particularly vulnerable population as functional (vascular and skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction) and structural deficits (loss in muscle mass leading to a reduction in strength) are a consequence of the aging process. The combination of inactivity and aging poses an added health threat to these individuals by accelerating the negative impact on vascular and skeletal muscle function and dysfunction. The underlying factors leading to vascular and skeletal muscle dysfunction are unknown, but have been linked to increases in oxidative stress. Additionally, there is a lack of understanding of how vascular function is impacted by inactivity in humans and how these changes are related to skeletal muscle function. It is our goal to investigate the mechanisms that contribute to disuse muscle atrophy and vascular dysfunction in order to diminish their negative impact, and preserve vascular and skeletal muscle function across all the lifespan.

Start: September 2019