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RecruitingPhase 1

: Vascular Function in Health and Disease

Vascular Function in Health & Disease: Rehabilitation for Hypertension; Exercise and Skeletal Muscle Afferent Feedback

Who can join

As published by the study on ClinicalTrials.gov. "Not stated" means the study hasn't said — ask the study team.

Age
18 Years and older
Sex
All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Compensation
Not stated

Other requirements are listed under Eligibility below. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

What to expect

No one can promise a trial will help you personally — that is what the research is trying to find out.

What participation involves

  • Procedures mentioned: MRI scans

Only what the study's summary and detailed description on ClinicalTrials.gov say. Time periods may describe the whole study or a part of it — ask the study team what applies to you.

Show the study's own words
  • "The recent development of a unique combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques by members of our group enables near-simultaneous measurements of both muscle perfusion and metabolism in vivo."
Compensation
Not stated
  • Study-related exams and procedures are typically provided at no cost. This is how many trials work in general — confirm the details for this study with the study team.
  • Participants are monitored closely by the research team throughout the study.
  • Some participants may receive access to an investigational treatment, which is still being studied.
  • Your participation helps researchers learn whether this approach could help future patients.

About this study

In plain language

This study looks at how aging and disease change blood flow to muscles, both at rest and during exercise. It studies four chemical pathways that may affect blood vessels. It is for healthy younger and older adults and people with certain heart, lung, or blood vessel conditions.

Many control mechanisms exist which successfully match the supply of blood with the metabolic demand of various tissues under wide-ranging conditions. One primary regulator of vasomotion and thus perfusion to the muscle tissue is the host of chemical factors originating from the vascular endothelium and the muscle tissue, which collectively sets the level of vascular tone. With advancing age and in many disease states, deleterious adaptations in the production and sensitivity of these vasodilator and vasoconstrictor substances may be observed, leading to a reduction in skeletal muscle blood flow and compromised perfusion to the muscle tissue. Adequate perfusion is particularly important during exercise to meet the increased metabolic demand of the exercising tissue, and thus any condition that reduces tissue perfusion may limit the capacity for physical activity. As it is now well established that regular physical activity is a key component in maintaining cardiovascular health with advancing age, there is a clear need for further studies in populations where vascular dysfunction is compromised, with the goal of identifying the mechanisms responsible for the dysfunction and exploring whether these maladaptations may be remediable. Thus, to better understand the etiology of these vascular adaptations in health and disease, the current proposal is designed to study changes in vascular function with advancing age, and also examine peripheral vascular changes in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Sepsis, Pulmonary Hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. While there are clearly a host of vasoactive substances which collectively act to govern vasoconstriction both at rest and during exercise, four specific pathways that may be implicated have been identified in these populations: Angiotensin-II (ANG-II), Endothelin-1 (ET-1), Nitric Oxide (NO), and oxidative stress.

Compensation is read from the study's own description and may be missing — always confirm with the study team.

Eligibility

Who can join

  • Healthy adults ages 18–30 with no health problems that would affect taking part.
  • Healthy adults age 65 or older with no health problems that would affect taking part.
  • Patients having a routine coronary angiogram, a test that checks the heart's blood vessels.
  • Patients with mild to moderate COPD, a lung disease that makes breathing hard.
  • Patients with Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure in the lung arteries, that is inherited or has no known cause.
  • Patients with heart failure and New York Heart Association Class I, II, or III symptoms.
  • Patients with long-term high blood pressure.

Who can't join

  • Severe COPD: using extra oxygen or breathing out less than 30% of the expected amount of air in one second.
  • A past heart attack, a procedure to open blocked heart arteries, or heart bypass surgery.
  • Unstable angina (new or worsening heart-related chest pain) or a history of variant angina (chest pain from heart artery spasms).
  • A heart pumping measure called ejection fraction below 50%.
  • Major kidney disease, with a kidney filtering rate below 50 mL/min/1.73 m².
  • An MRI scan could put your care or safety at risk, such as because of a pacemaker, metal implants, or certain heart valves.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Other physical health problems, besides the listed lung conditions, heart failure, or high blood pressure, that the study doctor thinks would prevent taking part.

Simplified for readability. The official criteria below are what the study team uses.

Official eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy Young Volunteers: 18-30 years of age with no diseases or conditions that would affect their participation in the study * Healthy Older Controls: volunteers 65 years of age or older with no diseases or conditions that would affect their participation in the study * Coronary Angiography subjects: patients undergoing routine coronary angiography * Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease subjects: patients diagnosed with mild to moderate COPD * Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension subjects: patients with idiopathic or heritable Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension * Heart Failure subjects: patients with Class I, II or III New York Heart Association symptoms of Heart Failure * Hypertension subjects: patients diagnosed with chronic high blood pressure Exclusion Criteria: * Severe COPD (use of supplemental oxygen, or have a one-second forced expiratory volume of less than 30% predicted) * History of myocardial infarction * History of percutaneous coronary revascularization * History of coronary artery bypass grafting * Unstable angina pectoris * History of variant angina * Ejection fraction \< 50% * Significant renal disease (Glomerular Filtration Rate \< 50 mL/min/1.73m2) * Subjects whose medical care or safety may be at risk from undergoing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging examination (e.g. pacemaker, metal implants, certain types of heart valves) * Subject is pregnant * Subject has physical ailments (other than COPD, PAH, HF, or hypertension) that would prevent them from study participation in the judgment of the investigator

Study sites (1)

UT