Episodes
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Microvascular Function Following Preeclampsia
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
We recorded our latest episode on International Women’s Day 2021, and the topic is particularly relevant and fitting. Host Jessica Faulkner (Augusta University) interviewed authors Graeme Smith and Logan Barr (both at Queen’s University), as well as expert Junie Paula Warrington (University of Mississippi Medical Center) about a new study by Barr et al. Using laser speckle contrast imaging and iontophoresis, the authors assessed microvascular function in women five years postpartum in both normal pregnancy and preeclamptic pregnancy cohorts. The authors also characterized hypertensive pregnancies as either mild or severe preeclampsia, a novel stratification of patients which helped identify unique functional alterations in the vasculature of the severely preeclamptic women compared to the mildly preeclamptic women. Why do the authors hypothesize that nitric oxide depletion and oxidative stress in the preeclamptic pregnancies are the culprits behind the endothelial dysfunction seen in these patients? What role does body mass index (BMI) play in the postpartum cardiovascular effects of preeclampsia? Listen to find out.
Logan C. Barr, Jessica Pudwell, Graeme N. Smith Postpartum microvascular functional alterations following severe preeclampsia Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published January 22, 2021. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00767.2020
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
E-cigarettes, Aldehydes and Endothelial Dysfunction
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
What are the cardiovascular effects of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin (PG:VG) and saturated aldehydes used in electronic cigarettes? Guest Editor Loren Wold (The Ohio State University) interviews senior author Daniel Conklin (University of Louisville) and expert Mark Olfert (West Virginia University) about the latest study by Jin et al., which investigated the base liquid in E-cigarettes in the absence of nicotine and flavorings. Conklin and co-authors exposed male and female mice to the individual components of the E-cigarette aerosol cloud (PG:VG-derived aerosol, formaldehyde gas, acetaldehyde gas) and compared their results to filtered air. The authors found mice exposed to PG:VG and formaldehyde gas showed increased endothelial dysfunction, a key biomarker of chronic cardiovascular disease risk. The authors also found that female mice were more sensitive to each of the exposure conditions than male counterparts. Does this indicate that female mice are a sensitive and useful model for exposure to environmental inhalants? Do the authors think that heat-not-burn E-cigarettes may be an alternative to E-cigs using PG:VG base liquid? Listen as our experts discuss where we go from here.
Lexiao Jin, Jordan Lynch, Andre Richardson, Pawel Lorkiewicz, Shweta Srivastava, Whitney Theis, Gregg Shirk, Alexis Hand, Aruni Bhatnagar, Sanjay Srivastava, Daniel J. Conklin Electronic Cigarette Solvents, Pulmonary Irritation and Endothelial Dysfunction:Role of Acetaldehyde and Formaldehyde Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published February 5, 2021. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00878.2020