Clinical Research Directory

Evaluation of Adding Nitrate Into Foods for Regulating Nitric Oxide Bioavailability in Healthy Individuals

Inorganic nitrate, found in leafy green vegetables and beetroot, can help lower blood pressure and support heart health. Early experimental work has suggested that dietary nitrate supplementation, in the form of beetroot juice or potassium nitrate capsules, can reduce blood pressure and improve endothelial function. Consequently, concentrated nitrate supplements like beetroot juice have become popular. However, these supplements can be expensive, high in sugar, and not to everyone's taste. Since more than three-quarters of adults with high blood pressure live in low- and middle-income countries, it is important to find safe, affordable ways to add nitrate to commonly eaten foods. The team at Queen Mary University of London has been developing nitrate-fortified products that may be more appealing to a wider population. With support from the food manufacturer Reading Scientific Services Ltd. (RSSL), they have successfully added nitrate to three oat-based products: cereal bar, porridge, and biscuits. This study aims to explore whether adding nitrate to commonly eaten foods can improve nitric oxide levels in the body and help lower blood pressure in healthy volunteers. Participants will receive the three nitrate-fortified food products in a randomised, crossover design. Nitrate and nitrite concentrations in biological samples, along with blood pressure, will be measured before and at multiple time points after supplementation with the nitrate-fortified products.

Acute Equol Supplementation and Vascular Function in Women With and Without CKD

The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is significantly elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Notably, women with CKD commonly experience menstrual disturbances induced by CKD, which may contribute to impaired vascular function and elevated CVD risk. However, most of the literature in nephrology focuses on male patients, and studies on women's vascular health are limited. Establishing effective therapies for improving vascular function and reducing CVD risk in women with CKD is a high research priority of the NIH. Equol contributes to improvement in vascular function, mediated in part by its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. However, there is no information on the effect of equol on vascular function in women with CKD. The proposed project aims to determine the acute effect (1-hour, 2-hours, and 3-hours post ingestion) of oral equol supplementation on vascular function in postmenopausal women with and without CKD.

Equol and Vascular Function in Women With Chronic Kidney Disease

The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is significantly elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Notably, women with CKD commonly experience menstrual disturbances induced by CKD, which may contribute to impaired vascular function and elevated CVD risk. However, most of the literature in nephrology focuses on male patients, and studies on women's vascular health are limited. Establishing effective therapies for improving vascular function and reducing CVD risk in women with CKD is a high research priority of the NIH. Equol contributes to improvement in vascular function, mediated in part by its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. However, there is no information on the effect of equol on vascular function in women with CKD. The proposed project aims to determine the effect of 12 weeks of oral equol supplementation on vascular function in postmenopausal women with CKD.

Abertay Tea for Cardiovascular Health During Menopause

The regular consumption of seaweed, as observed in Japan, is associated to a reduced cardiovascular risk and prolonged life expectancy. Interventional studies have shown that brown seaweed consumption can reduce blood pressure, improve glycaemic control and lipoprotein profiles, although this varies with population, dose, duration and the type of seaweed. Brown seaweed appears the most promising to improve cardiovascular risk, due to the presence of specific antioxidants (polyphenols called phlorotannins), pigments (fucoxanthin) and fibre (alginate, fucoidan). Women see their cardiovascular risk greatly increased when they reach menopause, and seaweed consumption may provide benefits for this population. In the UK, 98% of UK residents drink tea daily (Source UKTIA), with English breakfast tea being the most popular. Providing a tea enriched with beneficial compounds has the potential to improve cardiovascular health in a wide range of the population, including postmenopausal women. Abertay university (Dundee, UK) has recently developed an English Breakfast tea enriched with fermented seaweed, which was found to taste like English breakfast tea. We hypothesise that the consumption of 3 cups a day of the Abertay-developed Tea (AberTea) for 8 weeks, with each tea bag containing 1g of fermented seaweed, will improve vascular function and cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women.

Anti-hypertensive Therapy and Exercise Treatment to Improve Vascular Health in Patients With Hypertension.

This is a prospective, monocentric, randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of anti-hypertensive treatment and/or individualized exercise training intervention on blood pressure and vascular health. Furthermore the investigators want to decipher mechanisms, which contribute to vascular health by analyzing changes in metabolism and cell function in relation to vascular reaction.

Heat Therapy and Peripheral Artery Disease

The purpose of the study is to assess the efficacy of a novel 8 week heat therapy intervention in intermittent claudication compared to usual care controls. Participants will be enrolled on a wait-list control randomised trial testing physiological, mechanistic, and health related outcome measures.

The Effect of Chocolate on Vascular Function of Endurance Runners

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of chocolate on the vascular function of endurance runners through a crossover study involving male runners consuming both dark and white chocolate.

The Impact of Removal of Exercise on Glycemic Control and Vascular Health in Older Active Adults

The purpose of this study is to determine if an acute bout of removal of exercise reduces enothelial function and glycemic control in an active, older adult population; and whether a 3 day return to exercise restores this response. Glycemic control is the blood glucose response following the consumption of a meal. It is an indicator of insulin resistance (or type 2 diabetes) and impaired glycemic control has been suggested to lead to cardiovascular disease. Endothelial function has been shown to be improved by chronic or acute increases in physical activity. Both of these have been shown to be impaired to acute bouts of inactivity in young populations; however the impact of acute inactivity in older adults is less understood. In this proposal the investigators will examine 1)how quickly impairments in glycemic control occur to acute physical inactivity in older adults who exercise, 2) how quickly impairments in endothelial function occur to acute inactivity in older adults who exercise, and 3) whether 3 days of a return to exercise restores these responses.