: Vascular Function in Health and Disease

Part of paid clinical trials in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sponsor
Russell Richardson
Study ID
NCT02966665
Phase
PHASE1
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Maximum Exercise Tests — OTHER
    Graded exercise test to volitional exhaustion (stationary bike or treadmill), maximal handgrip test, maximal leg extension test, and maximal plantar flexion test.
  • BH4, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid and L-Ascorbate — DRUG
    Catheter placement in femoral artery and femoral vein; resting measurements of blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow; flow mediated vasodilation test, passive leg movement test, exercise bouts, electromyography and exercise training regimen at baseline and following treatment with Nitric Oxide blockade via infusion of N-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) (0.4 mg/kg/min), antioxidant cocktail (Vitamin C, Vitamin E, alpha-lipoic acid) ingestion, L-ascorbate injection, BH4 ingestion.
  • BQ-123 — DRUG
    Catheter placement in femoral artery and femoral vein; resting measurements of blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow; flow mediated vasodilation test and exercise bouts at baseline and following treatment with endothelin-1 receptor antagonist BQ-123 (D-tryptamine-D-aspartic acid-L-proline-D-valine-L-leucine).
  • Fexofenadine, Ranitidine — DRUG
    Catheter placement in femoral artery and femoral vein; resting measurements of blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow; flow mediated vasodilation test and exercise bouts at baseline and following treatment with Histamine H1 receptor antagonist fexofenadine (Allegra) and Histamine H2 receptor antagonist ranitidine (Zantac).
  • Angiotensin-II, Valsartan — OTHER
    Catheter placement in femoral artery and femoral vein; resting measurements of blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow; flow mediated vasodilation test, muscle sympathetic nerve activity measurement, and exercise bouts at baseline and following treatment with Angiotensin-II receptor agonist (angiotensin-II) and antagonist Valsartan (Diovan).
  • Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Angiotensin-II, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine — DRUG
    Catheter placement in femoral artery and femoral vein; resting measurements of blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow; flow mediated vasodilation test, muscle sympathetic nerve activity measurement; vasodilation with nitroglycerin followed by Angiotensin-II and Alpha Adrenergic blockade with infusions of Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Angiotensin-II, Norepinephrine and Phentolamine (Regitine).
  • BQ-123, MitoQ, BH4 — DRUG
    Catheter placement in femoral artery and femoral vein and muscle biopsy; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) scanning and exercise bouts at baseline and following treatment with BQ-123 with or without oral mitochondria-targeted antioxidant (MitoQ) or oral BH4.

Study Details

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.

Key Dates

Start date
Sep 30, 2008
Status verified
Sep 2025
Primary completion
Aug 31, 2026
Completion
Aug 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
420 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Healthy Young Volunteers (18-30 years)
    Healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 years with no diseases or conditions that would affect their participation in the study, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.
  • Experimental: Healthy Older Controls (over 65 years)
    Healthy volunteers 65 years of age or older with no diseases or conditions that would affect their participation in the study, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.
  • Experimental: Coronary Angiography patients
    Patients undergoing routine coronary angiography, but who do not require intracoronary procedures or have history of myocardial disease, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.
  • Experimental: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients
    Patients diagnosed with mild to moderate COPD, but not severe COPD patients, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.
  • Experimental: Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension patients
    Patients with idiopathic or heritable Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.
  • Experimental: Heart Failure patients
    Patients with Class I - III New York Heart Association symptoms of Heart Failure who are not anemic or taking medications that affect blood clotting, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.
  • Experimental: Hypertension patients
    Patients with chronic high blood pressure, but with less than severe hypertension, administered various treatments to assess their effect on blood flow and metabolic demand of tissues under wide-ranging conditions, including Maximum Exercise Tests, L-NMMA, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, α-Lipoic Acid, L-Ascorbate, BQ-123, Fexofenadine, Ranitidine, Angiotensin-II, Valsartan, Acetylcholine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Norepinephrine, Phentolamine and MitoQ.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in Limb Blood Flow [ Time Frame: Baseline and 1 hour ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
George E Wahlen VA Medical CenterSalt Lake CityUtah84132
Russell Richardson, Ph.D.
[email protected]
801-582-1565
Ashley Nelson, MD
[email protected]
801-582-1565

Find similar trials in Salt Lake City, UT

By condition
COPDHeart failureHypertension (high blood pressure)
By specialty
PulmonologyLung diseaseCardiologyHeart disease
By research site
George E Wahlen VA Medical Center· Salt Lake City, UT

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