Non-invasive Vascular Laboratory - Division of Cardiovascular Medicine ::

Non-invasive Vascular Laboratory

Faculty

Jason Allen, PhD Director

Andrew Gow, PhD

Jian Zhang, MD

This clinical research team investigates vascular health and the atherosclerotic process. We combine physiological and biochemical techniques in an attempt to better detect atherogenesis.

Goals include the development of more comprehensive models for assessing the presence and progression of preclinical and established vascular disease, as well as identifying new targets for therapy.

A major area of focus is endothelial function, nitric oxide (NO), availability, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). NO has a variety of protective effects on vessel health and also plays a key role in the ability of arteries to relax.

Efforts in the lab utilize differences in NO availability in various compartments of the blood and attempt to relate them to artery function. This approach may help determine who may have the switch for cardiovascular disease turned on or off, and how different treatments affect this switch.

The Vascular Laboratory at the Center for Living routinely performs assessments of:

Carotid intima-medial thickening by carotid ultrasound
Endothelial function by brachial artery reactivity
Limb blood flow by strain gauge plethysmography
Vascular stiffness-pulse wave velocity and reflection by applantion tonometry
Ankle brachial index
Graded exercise testing
Indices of nitric oxide metabolism in circulating whole blood, plasma, and red cells
Indices of oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species in the circulating blood

Selected Publications

Allen JD, Cobb FR, Kraus WE, and Gow AJ. (2006). Plasma N-Oxides Discriminate Clinical Health Status Following Exercise Testing and Reflect Regional Endothelial Function (In review).
Allen JD, Gow AJ, and Cobb FR. (2005). Regional and Whole body markers of NO production following Hyperemic Stimuli. Free Radical Biology in Medicine 38(9):1164-1169.
Cobb FR, Kraus WK, Root M, Allen JD. Assessing Risk for Coronary Heart Disease: Beyond Framingham. AHJ 146:572-80, October 2003.
Allen JD, Johnson LG, Geaghan JP, Greenway F, and Welsch MA. Time-Course of Improved Flow-Mediated Dilation after Short-Term Exercise Training. Med Sci Sports Ex 35(5):847-853, 2003.
Welsch M, Allen JD, Geaghan JP. Stability and Reproducibility of Brachial Artery Flow Mediated Dilation. Med Sci Sports Ex 34(6):960-965, 2002.
Allen JD, Wilson JB, Tulley RT, Lefevre M, and Welsch M. (2000). Influence of Age and Normal Plasma Fibrinogen Levels on Flow Mediated Dilation in Healthy Adults. The American Journal of Cardiology, 86:703-705.