: Vascular Function in Health and Disease

Graded exercise test to volitional exhaustion (stationary bike or treadmill), maximal handgrip test, maximal leg extension test, and maximal plantar flexion test.

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.

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).

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).

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).

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).

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.