| Research Summary
Members of the Cardiovascular and Renal Research Center engage in studies of cardiovascular disease including hypertension, vascular disease, kidney disease, bladder function and obesity.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the
U.S., usually manifested as heart attacks, strokes or kidney failure. The high fat content of the Western diet promotes obesity and fatty deposits (atherosclerosis) in our arteries. Obesity leads to further complications including high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and damage of the internal lining of the arteries from oxidative stress. The fatty deposits attract cells from the blood that try to clean the arteries, but eventually they cause smooth muscle cells to migrate into the area where they reproduce and infringe upon the lumen of the artery. These conditions compromise blood flow that is needed to supply oxygen and nutrients to our organs,
which causes them to fail.
Some of the researchers in the Cardiovascular and Renal Research Center working on these problems are:
- Peter F. Blackmore, Ph.D.
Activation of platelets that cause the blood clots that block arteries in
strokes and heart attacks.
- Anca D. Dobrian, Ph.D. Obesity induced by the Western diet and its effects on blood vessels and the kidney by oxidative stress.
- Yuliya Dobrydneva, Ph.D. Modulators
of calcium channels in platelets, non-genomic effects of non-steroidal
estrogens and phytoestrogens, and the mechanism of tamoxifen-induced
thrombosis.
- Ali A. Khraibi, Ph.D. Kidney function in hypertension and pregnancy.
- Frank A. Lattanzio, Ph.D. Arrhythmias in the heart and isolated cardiovascular models.
- Russell L. Prewitt, Ph.D. Remodeling of arteries in hypertension.
- Michael J. Solhaug, M.D. Development of sodium excretion by the kidney in the neonate.
- Howard D. White, Ph.D. Study of the proteins that allow contraction of muscles.
- Patricia B. Williams, Ph.D. The facilitation and inhibition of the growth of new blood vessels.
While we are working on methods to prevent cardiovascular disease, you can do your part now by exercising, reducing intake of fat and total calories, and having your blood pressure and lipids checked. This is really a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. |
