Clinical Research Directory

Acetate and Age-associated Arterial Dysfunction

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality and contribute most to healthcare costs in the U.S. Age is the strongest cardiovascular disease risk factor, with \>90% of all deaths from cardiovascular disease occurring in adults \>50 years old. The age-associated increased risk of cardiovascular disease is due, in large part, to the development of arterial dysfunction, including endothelial dysfunction and stiffening of the large elastic arteries. Therefore, novel, effective interventions that improve arterial function will have a large public health impact by decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The short-chain fatty acid acetate is endogenously produced by the gut microbiome from fermentation of dietary soluble fiber. High-fiber diets reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases, but unfortunately, a low percentage of Americans meet guidelines for adequate dietary fiber intake and, despite nationwide efforts to improve this, trends in fiber intake have not improved over the last 20+ years. Thus, directly supplementing acetate may be a more practical and feasible intervention for effectively improving arterial function in older adults and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The investigators will conduct a study to determine the efficacy of 12 weeks of oral supplementation with acetate for improving arterial function in late middle-aged and older (50+ years) adults. They will also assess the safety and tolerability of acetate supplementation in these adults and perform innovative mechanistic analyses to determine how acetate supplementation improves arterial function. The investigators hypothesize that oral acetate supplementation will improve arterial function by decreasing oxidative stress and increasing nitric oxide bioavailability, and also hypothesize that acetate supplementation will be safe and promote high rates of adherence.

Chardonnay Marc and Vascular Response

This study aims to obtain data on the potential influence of Vine to Bar product(s) containing Chardonnay marc on cardiometabolic health. These initial studies will inform the design and timing of data collection for future dietary intervention trials that will examine the influence of Chardonnay marc intake on outcomes/biomarkers of both cardiometabolic health and the gut microbiome. This includes collecting data on the potential differences in response to the products based on the unique food matrix for each of the products that will be tested. Moreover, as there is a paucity of data on the influence of cocoa flavanol intake on vascular function beyond 4 hours post intake, the response of the selected outcomes will be assessed after 6 hours of flavanol intake. This is a time point that captures the increased circulating presence of microbial derived flavanol metabolites.

A Longitudinal Study to Identify Mechanisms of Menopause on Cardiovascular Disease Risk

With the cessation of estrogen production at menopause, the risk of cardiovascular disease like arthrosclerosis, myocardial infarction and stroke increases dramatically. Physical activity is the single most powerful "drug" for maintaining and improving cardiovascular health, but recent data suggest that the positive effect of physical activity is lost at menopause. In this project the investigators will follow a cohort of 200 women from before the women enter menopause and until at least 10 years past menopause. By advanced invasive methodologies the investigators will monitor the changes that occur in the blood vessels of the circulation, the heart and the brain and combine this with microRNA sequencing of blood and tissue samples.