Cross-sectional relations of peripheral microvascular function, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and aortic stiffness: the Framingham Heart Study.

Background: Aortic stiffness and small-artery structure and function share various risk factors; however, relations between these 2 measures of vascular function are complex and incompletely understood.

Methods And Results: We examined hyperemic forearm blood flow, an indicator of microvascular structure and function, and aortic stiffness in 2045 participants (1107 women, mean age 61+/-9 years) in the Framingham Heart Study offspring cohort. Using arterial tonometry, we evaluated 3 measures of aortic stiffness: brachial pulse pressure; carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CFPWV), which is related directly to aortic wall stiffness; and forward pressure wave amplitude (Pf), which is related directly to aortic wall stiffness and inversely to aortic diameter.

Pulsatile hemodynamic effects of candesartan in patients with chronic heart failure: the CHARM Program.

Background: Abnormal large artery function and increased pulsatile load are exacerbated by excess angiotensin-II acting through the AT1 receptor and contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of chronic heart failure (CHF).

Aims: To evaluate effects of the AT1 receptor blocker candesartan (N = 30) or placebo (N = 34) on pulsatile hemodynamics in participants with CHF in the CHARM program.

Methods And Results: Noninvasive hemodynamics were assessed following 6 and 14 months of treatment and averaged.

Local shear stress and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation: the Framingham Heart Study.

Endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation is a homeostatic response to short-term increases in local shear stress. Flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery in response to postischemic reactive hyperemia is impaired in patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors and may reflect local endothelial dysfunction in the brachial artery. However, previous studies have largely neglected the effect of risk factors on evoked shear stress, which is the stimulus for dilation.

Application of genome-wide gene expression profiling by high-density DNA arrays to the treatment and study of inflammatory bowel disease.

Identification of factors involved in the initiation, amplification, and perpetuation of the chronic immune response and the identification of markers for the characterization of patient subgroups remain critical objectives for ongoing research in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The Human Genome Project and the development of the expressed sequence tag (EST) clone collection and database have made possible a new revolution in gene expression analysis. Instead of measuring one or a few genes, parallel DNA microarrays are capable of simultaneously measuring expression of thousands of genes, providing a glimpse into the logic and functional grouping of gene programs encoded by our genome.