scholarly journals Changes in wall thickness of retinal arterioles as a surrogate marker of intracranial vascular pathology

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (S5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdelhak ◽  
Isaac Solomon ◽  
Alexandra Saias ◽  
Shivany Condor Montes ◽  
Christian Cordano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Vascular Pathology ◽  
Retinal Arterioles

scholarly journals Fish oil supplementation reduces osteoarthritis-specific pain in older adults with overweight/obesity

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia C Kuszewski ◽  
Rachel H X Wong ◽  
Peter R C Howe
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Fish Oil ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Microvascular Function ◽  
Trial Registration ◽  
Vascular Pathology ◽  
Cohen’S D ◽  
Cohen's D

Abstract Objectives OA is a leading cause of chronic pain and disability. Next to inflammation, vascular pathology has been hypothesized to play a role in its aetiology and progression. Owing to side effects and the low efficacy of pharmacological treatments, dietary supplements are popular as alternative treatments, but evidence of efficacy is limited. We tested whether fish oil and curcumin supplementation can reduce chronic pain and OA burden in older adults. Methods A 16-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial design supplementation trial with fish oil (2000 mg/day docosahexaenoic acid + 400 mg/day eicosapentaenoic acid), curcumin (160 mg/day) or a combination of both was undertaken in sedentary overweight/obese older adults. Secondary outcomes included treatment-induced changes in self-reported chronic pain and OA burden and whether changes were related to changes in small artery elasticity (surrogate marker for microvascular function), CRP (inflammatory marker) and well-being. Results The majority of participants (131 of 152) reported chronic pain, which was predominantly OA specific. Fish oil significantly reduced OA-specific pain (P = 0.002, Cohen’s d = 0.56) and burden (P = 0.015, Cohen’s d = 0.45) compared with no fish oil treatment; reductions were correlated with improvements in microvascular function and well-being. Curcumin, alone or in combination with fish oil, did not reduce pain measures. Conclusion Our findings indicate potential for fish oil to alleviate OA pain and burden in overweight/obese older adults. Further investigations should be undertaken in patients with clinically diagnosed OA to evaluate fish oil alone and as an adjunct to conventional pharmacotherapy and to investigate underlying mechanisms. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=370788, ACTRN12616000732482p.

scholarly journals P143 Gastrointestinal ultrasound is an accurate marker for endoscopic activity in Crohn’s disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S209-S209
Author(s):  
F Sævik ◽  
O H Gilja ◽  
K Nylund
Keyword(s):  
Crohn’S Disease ◽  
Crohn's Disease ◽  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Symptom Control ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Colour Doppler ◽  
Endoscopic Remission ◽  
Gastrointestinal Ultrasound ◽  
Active Disease

Abstract Background Treatment goals for Crohn’s disease (CD) have changed from symptom control to objective endpoints, preferably endoscopic remission. However, as the relative invasiveness of ileocolonoscopy limits repeated examinations, a surrogate marker of endoscopic remission is needed. Gastrointestinal ultrasound (GIUS) is accurate in detecting CD, and we aimed to explore its ability to distinguish between patients with active disease from patients in remission. Methods One hundred and forty-five CD patients scheduled for ileocolonoscopy were prospectively included. The endoscopic disease activity was quantified using the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s disease (SES-CD), and endoscopic remission was strictly defined as SES-CD=0. Ultrasound remission was defined as wall thickness <3 mm (<4 mm in the rectum). Additionally, SES-CD was compared with colour Doppler, Harvey Bradshaw’s index (HBI), C-reactive protein (CRP) and calprotectin. Twenty-three patients were examined by two investigators for interobserver assessment. Results 102 had active disease and 43 patients were in remission. GIUS yielded a sensitivity of 92.2% and specificity of 86% for wall thickness and sensitivity 66.7% and specificity 97.7% for colour Doppler. For HBI sensitivity was 34.3% and specificity 88.4%, CRP sensitivity 35.7% and specificity 82.9% and calprotectin sensitivity 55.9 % and specificity 82.1%. The interobserver analysis revealed excellent agreement (k=0.90). Conclusion GIUS has a high sensitivity for detecting endoscopic activity, but poorer specificity. In a hospital cohort of patients with Crohn’s disease, the number of invasive procedures could be reduced by reserving ileocolonoscopy for patients with a normal ultrasound for identification of patients in remission.

scholarly journals 23: VASCULAR INFLAMMATION AND AORTIC WALL CHARACTERISTICS MODULATE FOLLOWING LIFESTYLE CHANGES IN PSORIASIS PATIENTS AT 1 YEAR FOLLOW UP

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 816.2-816
Author(s):  
A Joshi ◽  
P Shukla ◽  
TM Aberra ◽  
JB Lerman ◽  
B Natarajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Aortic Wall ◽  
Vascular Inflammation ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Phase Contrast Mri ◽  
Exercise Frequency ◽  
Mri Scans

Purpose of StudyPsoriasis (PSO), a chronic inflammatory skin disease, is associated with increased CV risk and vascular inflammation (VI). However, the effect of therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) including exercise on VI over time is unknown. We hypothesized that TLC would lead to an improvement in VI at 1 year accompanied by improvements in aortic wall characteristics.Methods Used65 PSO patients, recruited consecutively, underwent FDG PET/CT, phase contrast MRI scans and clinical visits for evaluation of VI, wall characteristics and exercise frequency, at baseline and 1 year follow-up. VI was measured as Target-to-background ratio (TBR), and aortic distensibility (AD) and wall thickness were assessed by commercial software on phase contrast MRI scans. Clinical parameters were ascertained by both survey and provider.Summary of ResultsVI decreased at 1 year (6.5% decrease in TBR; p<0.0001), and was inversely associated with exercise frequency beyond adjustment for CV risk factors (β=−0.27; p=0.001). Furthermore, this decrease in VI was associated with improvement in AD (40% increase; p<0.001) and aortic wall thickness (8.5% decrease; p<0.001).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that VI improves with TLC. This 6.5% decrease in VI could lead to ∼30% reduction in future adverse events, based on a recent large prospective study. This VI reduction is also associated with improved aortic wall characteristics suggesting that targeting VI as a surrogate marker holds promise to understand the effects of TLC on CV disease.Abstract 23 Figure 1

scholarly journals Hibiscus extract mitigates salt induced carotid adventitial changes in rats

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fidel O Gwala ◽  
Beda O Olabu ◽  
Anne N Pulei ◽  
Julius A. Ogeng’o
Keyword(s):  
Carotid Artery ◽  
Structure Function ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
High Salt ◽  
Vascular Pathology ◽  
Vascular Structure ◽  
High Salt Diet ◽  
Salt Diet ◽  
Salt Consumption ◽  
Collagen Density

The tunica adventitia is an active vascular compartment that actively participates in modulation of vascular structure, function and pathophysiology. Adventitial thickness has recently been accepted as a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. The effects of salt and chemicals that ameliorate those effects are important in understanding vascular structure, function and pathology. There are few studies on hibiscus and high salt induced vascular pathology. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of hibiscus on salt induced vascular changes on rat carotid artery. The experimental animals were divided into 3 groups of 8 animals each – (i) controls; (ii) high salt diet alone and (iii) high salt + hibiscus extract for a period of eight weeks. At ages 2, 5 and 8weeks 2 – 3 animals were sacrificed for study. They were anaesthetized with ether and perfused with formal saline. Specimens were then obtained from the middle of common carotid artery, fixed in 5% formaldehyde solution, processed routinely for paraffin embedding and 5-micron thick sections stained with Hematoxylin / Eosin and also with Mason’s Trichome/ Aniline blue. Adventitial thickness and volumetric densities of collagen were measured using morphometric techniques. High salt consumption induced statistically significant increase in adventitial thickness from 297.45μm at week 2 to 659.4μm in week 8. In hibiscus fed rats, this increase progressively reduced to 482.55μm in week 8. Volumetric density of collagen was 57% in high salt fed rats but reduced to 45.66% in hibiscus fed rats (p<0.001). The increase in tunica adventitial thickness and collagen density which is induced by high salt can be mitigated by hibiscus extract. This implies that hibiscus has potential to restore salt induced vascular injury. Further studies are recommended to refine the extract.Keywords: adventitial thickness, high salt, hibiscus, collagen, density

Assessment of Myocardial Viability in Persistent Defects on Thallium-201 SPECT after Reinjection Using Gradient-Echo MRI

1996 ◽  
Vol 35 (05) ◽  
pp. 146-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kögler ◽  
H.-A. Schmitt ◽  
D. Emrich ◽  
H. Kreuzer ◽  
D. L. Munz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Myocardial Viability ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Contractile Function ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Wall Thickening ◽  
Gradient Echo ◽  
Systolic Wall Thickening

SummaryThis prospective study assessed myocardial viability in 30 patients with coronary heart disease and persistent defects despite reinjection on TI-201 single-photon computed tomography (SPECT). In each patient, three observers graded TI-201 uptake in 7 left ventricular wall segments. Gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging in the region of the persistent defect generated 12 to 16 short axis views representing a cardiac cycle. A total of 120 segments were analyzed. Mean end-diastolic wall thickness and systolic wall thickening (± SD) was 11.5 ± 2.7 mm and 5.8 ± 3.9 mm in 48 segments with normal TI-201 uptake, 10.1 ± 3.4 mm and 3.7 ± 3.1 mm in 31 with reversible lesions, 11.3 ± 2.8 mm and 3.3 ± 1.9 mm in 10 with mild persistent defects, 9.2 ± 2.9 mm and 3.2 ±2.2 mm in 15 with moderate persistent defects, 5.8 ± 1.7 mm and 1.3 ± 1.4 mm in 16 with severe persistent defects, respectively. Significant differences in mean end-diastolic wall thickness (p <0.0005) and systolic wall thickening (p <0.005) were found only between segments with severe persistent defects and all other groups, but not among the other groups. On follow-up in 11 patients after revascularization, 6 segments with mild-to-moderate persistent defects showed improvement in mean systolic wall thickening that was not seen in 6 other segments with severe persistent defects. These data indicate that most myocardial segments with mild and moderate persistent TI-201 defects after reinjection still contain viable tissue. Segments with severe persistent defects, however, represent predominantly nonviable myocardium without contractile function.

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