Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Vascular”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1997

BP and Vascular Function Following Space Flight

Blood pressure and mesenteric resistance artery function were assessed in 9-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats following an 18 day shuttle flight on STS-80. Blood pressure was measured twice, first in conscious animals using a tail-cuff method and then while the animals were anesthetized with 2% halothane in O2. Isolated mesenteric resistance artery responses to cumulative additions of norepinephrine, acetylcholine, sodium nitroprusside, and calcium were measured within 17 hours of landing using wire myography. Blood pressure was slightly reduced in conscious animals following flight (p=0.056) but was significantly elevated (p less than.001) above vivarium control group values in anesthetized animals. Maximal contraction of mesenteric arteries to norepinephrine was attenuated in the flight animals (p less than.001)aswasrelaxationtoacetylcholine(p less than .001)andcalcium(p less than .05). There was no difference between flight and control animals in the vessel response to sodium nitroprusside (p greater than .05). The results suggest that there may have been an increase in synthesis and release of nitric oxide in the flight animals.

Hatton, Daniel C.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Vascular Uptake of Six Rehydration Drinks at Rest and Exercise

A report presents data on the effectiveness of each of six rehydration fluids in restoring total body water and plasma volume in human subjects during rest and exercise. One of the six fluids was water sweetened with aspartame: the others were water containing various amounts of sodium chloride and/or sodium citrate, plus various amounts of aspartame and/or other carbohydrates. In one experiment, five men who had previously dehydrated themselves for 24 hours drank one of the rehydration fluids, then sat for 70 minutes. Pretest plasma volumes were measured and changes in plasma volumes were calculated. This procedure was repeated at weekly intervals until all six rehydration fluids had been tested. Another similar experiment involved four men who exercised on a cycle ergometer for 70 minutes in the supine position after drinking the fluids.

Greenleaf, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1997

National Institutes of Health, Rodent 4 (NIH.R4); Calcium Metabolism and Vascular Function After Spaceflight: A Collaborative Series with NASA and NIH

The NIH.R4 payload was a collaborative experiment conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This middeck payload was the fourth in a series of experiments focusing on developmental biology and the effects of microgravity on mammalian systems. The NIH.R4 payload was flown onboard STS-80, which launched November 19, 1996, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 1996, and was the longest shuttle mission to date. Fourteen male Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHR) were flown; seven in each of two Animal Enclosure Modules (AEM) in the shuttle middeck. The flight animals were exposed to 18 days of microgravity. Two synchronous control groups were utilized for this study in addition to an asynchronous post-flight AEM control study conducted at the PI lab. The animals were fed two different calcium diets in the NASA food bar (2.0% and 0.2%) three weeks prior to launch and insight. Blood pressures were taken at pre-determined intervals and were the basis for flight selection. Upon recovery Dwight animals blood pressure was measured and a variety of tissues were collected. Project testing and data will be presented.

Reiss-Bubenheim, Debra↗
NASA NTRS2004

Molecular Basis of Mechano-Signal Transduction in Vascular Endothelial Cells

Simulated microgravity studies using a random positioning machine (RPM). One RPM machine has been built for us by Fokker Science in Netherland. Using the device, we have developed an in vitro system to examine the effect of simulated microgravity on osteoblastic bone cells. Using this system, we have carried out gene chip studies to determine the gene expression profiles of osteoblasts cultured under simulated microgravity conditions in comparison to static controls. From this study, we have identified numerous genes, some of which are expected ones inducing bone loss, but many of which are unexpected and unknown. These findings are being prepared for publications.

Jo, Hanjoong↗
NASA NTRS2002

Peripheral vascular responses to heat stress after hindlimb suspension

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether hindlimb suspension (which simulates the effects of microgravity) results in impaired hemodynamic responses to heat stress or alterations in mesenteric small artery sympathetic nerve innervation. METHODS: Over 28 d, 16 male Sprague-Dawley rats were hindlimb-suspended, and 13 control rats were housed in the same type of cage. After the treatment, mean arterial pressure (MAP), colonic temperature (Tcol), and superior mesenteric and iliac artery resistances (using Doppler flowmetry) were measured during heat stress [exposure to 42 degrees C until the endpoint of 80 mm Hg blood pressure was reached (75 +/- 9 min); endpoint Tcore = 43.6 +/- 0.2] while rats were anesthetized (sodium pentobarbital, 50 mg x kg(-1) BW). RESULTS: Hindlimb-suspended and control rats exhibited similar increases in Tcol, MAP, and superior mesenteric artery resistance, and similar decreases in iliac resistance during heat stress (endpoint was a fall in MAP below 80 mm Hg). Tyrosine hydroxylase immunostaining indicated similar sympathetic nerve innervation in small mesenteric arteries from both groups. CONCLUSION: Hindlimb suspension does not alter the hemodynamic or thermoregulatory responses to heat stress in the anesthetized rat or mesenteric sympathetic nerve innervation, suggesting that this sympathetic pathway is intact.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗
NASA NTRS1999

Vascular structure determines pulmonary blood flow distribution

Scientific knowledge develops through the evolution of new concepts. This process is usually driven by new methodologies that provide observations not previously available. Understanding of pulmonary blood flow determinants advanced significantly in the 1960s and is now changing rapidly again, because of increased spatial resolution of regional pulmonary blood flow measurements.

Review↗
NASA NTRS1998

Measurement of net whole-body transcapillary fluid transport and effective vascular compliance in humans

BACKGROUND: Net whole-body transcapillary fluid transport (TFT) between the circulation and the interstitial (extravascular) space may be calculated as: IV - deltaPV - UV - IL, where IV=infused or ingested volume (when applicable), deltaPV = change in plasma volume, UV=urine volume, and IL=insensible loss. RESULTS: Infusion of 30 mL/kg isotonic saline over 25 minutes increased supine TFT from a basal capillary reabsorption of -106+/-24 mL/h (mean+/-SE) to a net filtration of 1,229+/-124 mL/h. One hour after infusion, reabsorption of -236+/-102 mL/h was seen, and control reabsorption levels returned by 3 hours. Four hours of 30 mm Hg lower body negative pressure (LBNP) elicited no net TFT, probably because of upper body reabsorptive compensation for lower body capillary filtration. When ingestion of 1 L of isotonic saline accompanied LBNP, filtration of 145+/-10 mL/h occurred. Reabsorption of extravascular fluid into the circulation always followed LBNP. CONCLUSION: Application of this technique could aid understanding of physiologic conditions, experimental interventions, disease states, and therapies that cause or are influenced by fluid shifts between intravascular and interstitial compartments.

NASA Center JSC↗
NASA NTRS1998

Chronic orthostatic intolerance: a disorder with discordant cardiac and vascular sympathetic control

BACKGROUND: Chronic orthostatic intolerance (COI) is a debilitating autonomic condition in young adults. Its neurohumoral and hemodynamic profiles suggest possible alterations of postural sympathetic function and of baroreflex control of heart rate (HR). METHODS AND RESULTS: In 16 COI patients and 16 healthy volunteers, intra-arterial blood pressure (BP), ECG, central venous pressure (CVP), and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) were recorded at rest and during 75 degrees tilt. Spectral analysis of RR interval and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) variabilities provided indices of sympathovagal modulation of the sinoatrial node (ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency components, LF/HF) and of sympathetic vasomotor control (LFSAP). Baroreflex mechanisms were assessed (1) by the slope of the regression line obtained from changes of RR interval and MSNA evoked by pharmacologically induced alterations in BP and (2) by the index alpha, obtained from cross-spectral analysis of RR and SAP variabilities. At rest, HR, MSNA, LF/HF, and LFSAP were higher in COI patients, whereas BP and CVP were similar in the two groups. During tilt, BP did not change and CVP fell by the same extent in the 2 groups; the increase of HR and LF/HF was more pronounced in COI patients. Conversely, the increase of MSNA was lower in COI than in control subjects. Baroreflex sensitivity was similar in COI and control subjects at rest; tilt reduced alpha similarly in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: COI is characterized by an overall enhancement of noradrenergic tone at rest and by a blunted postganglionic sympathetic response to standing, with a compensatory cardiac sympathetic overactivity. Baroreflex mechanisms maintain their functional responsiveness. These data suggest that in COI, the functional distribution of central sympathetic tone to the heart and vasculature is abnormal.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effect of leg exercise training on vascular volumes during 30 days of 6 degrees head-down bed rest

Plasma and red cell volumes, body density, and water balance were measured in 19 men (32-42 yr) confined to bed rest (BR). One group (n = 5) had no exercise training (NOE), another near-maximal variable-intensity isotonic exercise for 60 min/day (ITE; n = 7), and the third near-maximal intermittent isokinetic exercise for 60 min/day (IKE; n = 7). Caloric intake was 2,678-2,840 kcal/day; mean body weight (n = 19) decreased by 0.58 +/- 0.35 (SE) kg during BR due to a negative fluid balance (diuresis) on day 1. Mean energy costs for the NOE, and IKE, and ITE regimens were 83 (3.6 +/- 0.2 ml O2.min-1.kg-1), 214 (8.9 +/- 0.5 ml.min-1.kg-1), and 446 kcal/h (18.8 +/- 1.6 ml.min-1.kg-1), respectively. Body densities within groups and mean urine volumes (1,752-1,846 ml/day) between groups were unchanged during BR. Resting changes in plasma volume (ml/kg) after BR were -1.5 +/- 2.3% (NS) in ITE, -14.7 +/- 2.8% (P less than 0.05) in NOE, and -16.8 +/- 2.9% (P less than 0.05) in IKE, and mean water balances during BR were +295, -106, and +169 ml/24 h, respectively. Changes in red cell volume followed changes in plasma volume. The significant chronic decreases in plasma volume in the IKE and NOE groups and its maintenance in the ITE group could not be accounted for by water balance or by responses of the plasma osmotic, protein, vasopressin, or aldosterone concentrations or plasma renin activity. There was close coupling between resting plasma volume and plasma protein and osmotic content.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS2004

Human cutaneous vascular responses to whole-body tilting, Gz centrifugation, and LBNP

We hypothesized that gravitational stimuli elicit cardiovascular responses in the following order with gravitational stress equalized at the level of the feet, from lowest to highest response: short-(SAC) and long-arm centrifugation (LAC), tilt, and lower body negative pressure (LBNP). Up to 15 healthy subjects underwent graded application of the four stimuli. Laser-Doppler flowmetry measured regional skin blood flow. At 0.6 G(z) (60 mmHg LBNP), tilt and LBNP similarly reduced leg skin blood flow to approximately 36% of supine baseline levels. Flow increased back toward baseline levels at 80-100 mmHg LBNP yet remained stable during 0.8-1.0 G(z) tilt. Centrifugation usually produced less leg vasoconstriction than tilt or LBNP. Surprisingly, SAC and LAC did not differ significantly. Thigh responses were less definitive than leg responses. No gravitational vasoconstriction occurred in the neck. All conditions except SAC increased heart rate, according to our hypothesized order. LBNP may be a more effective and practical means of simulating cardiovascular effects of gravity than centrifugation.

Motor Activity/physiology↗
NASA NTRS2005

MRI-Based Computational Fluid Dynamics in Experimental Vascular Models: Toward the Development of an Approach for Prediction of Cardiovascular Changes During Prolonged Space Missions

A priority of NASA is to identify and study possible risks to astronauts health during prolonged space missions [l]. The goal is to develop a procedure for a preflight evaluation of the cardiovascular system of an astronaut and to forecast how it will be affected during the mission. To predict these changes, a computational cardiovascular model must be constructed. Although physiology data can be used to make a general model, a more desirable subject-specific model requires anatomical, functional, and flow data from the specific astronaut. MRI has the unique advantage of providing images with all of the above information, including three-directional velocity data which can be used as boundary conditions in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program [2,3]. MRI-based CFD is very promising for reproduction of the flow patterns of a specific subject and prediction of changes in the absence of gravity. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of this approach by reconstructing the geometry of MRI-scanned arterial models and reproducing the MRI-measured velocities using CFD simulations on these geometries.

Spirka, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Astronaut Preflight Cardiovascular Variables Associated with Vascular Compliance are Highly Correlated with Post-Flight Eye Outcome Measures in the Visual Impairment Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) Syndrome Following Long Duration Spaceflight

The detection of the first VIIP case occurred in 2005, and adequate eye outcome measures were available for 31 (67.4%) of the 46 long duration US crewmembers who had flown on the ISS since its first crewed mission in 2000. Therefore, this analysis is limited to a subgroup (22 males and 9 females). A "cardiovascular profile" for each astronaut was compiled by examining twelve individual parameters; eleven of these were preflight variables: systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, body mass index, percentage body fat, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, use of anti‐lipid medication, fasting serum glucose, and maximal oxygen uptake in ml/kg. Each of these variables was averaged across three preflight annual physical exams. Astronaut age prior to the long duration mission, and inflight salt intake was also included in the analysis. The group of cardiovascular variables for each crew member was compared with seven VIIP eye outcome variables collected during the immediate post‐flight period: anterior-posterior axial length of the globe measured by ultrasound and optical biometry; optic nerve sheath diameter, optic nerve diameter, and optic nerve to sheath ratio‐ each measured by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), intraocular pressure (IOP), change in manifest refraction, mean retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) on optical coherence tomography (OCT), and RNFL of the inferior and superior retinal quadrants. Since most of the VIIP eye outcome measures were added sequentially beginning in 2005, as knowledge of the syndrome improved, data were unavailable for 22.0% of the outcome measurements. To address the missing data, we employed multivariate multiple imputation techniques with predictive mean matching methods to accumulate 200 separate imputed datasets for analysis. We were able to impute data for the 22.0% of missing VIIP eye outcomes. We then applied Rubin's rules for collapsing the statistical results across our 200 multiply imputed data sets to assess the canonical correlation between the eye outcomes and the twelve astronaut cardiovascular variables available for all 31 subjects. Results: A highly significant canonical correlation was observed among the canonical solutions (p<.00001), with an average best canonical correlation of.97. The results suggest a strong association between astronauts' measures of cardiovascular health and the seven eye outcomes of the VIIP syndrome used in this analysis. Furthermore, the "joint test" revealed a significant difference in cardiovascular profile between male and female astronauts (Prob > F = 0.00001). Overall, female astronauts demonstrated a significantly healthier cardiovascular status. Individually, the female astronauts had significantly healthier profiles on seven of twelve cardiovascular variables than the men (p values ranging from <0.0001 to <0.05). Male astronauts did not demonstrate significantly healthier values on any of the twelve cardiovascular variables measured

Otto, Christian↗
NASA NTRS2016

Metabolomic and Genomic Markers of Atherosclerosis as Related to Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Vascular Function in Twin Astronauts

Background: Future human space travel will consist primarily of long-duration missions onboard the International Space Station (ISS) or exploration-class missions to Mars, its moons, or nearby asteroids. Astronauts participating in long-duration missions may be at an increased risk of oxidative stress and inflammatory damage due to radiation, psychological stress, altered physical activity, nutritional insufficiency, and hyperoxia during extravehicular activity. By studying one identical twin during his 1-year ISS mission and one ground-based twin, this work extends a current NASA-funded investigation to determine whether these spaceflight factors contribute to an accelerated progression of atherosclerosis. This study of twins affords a unique opportunity to examine the spaceflight-related atherosclerosis risk independent of the confounding factors associated with different genotypes. Purpose: The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether biomarkers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after long-duration spaceflight and determine if a relation exists between levels of these biomarkers and structural and functional indices of atherosclerotic risk measured in the carotid and brachial arteries. These physiological and biochemical data will be extended by using an exploratory approach to investigate the relationship between intermediate phenotypes and risk factors for atherosclerosis and the metabolomic signature from plasma and urine samples. Since metabolites are often the indirect products of gene expression, we will simultaneously assess gene expression and DNA methylation in leukocytes. Hypothesis: We predict that the space-flown twin will experience elevated biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammatory damage, altered arterial structure and function, accelerated telomere shortening, dysregulation of genes associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, and a metabolic profile shift that is associated with elevated atherosclerosis risk factors. Conversely, these will not be observed in the ground-based twin. Methods: We will measure blood and urine biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation as well as arterial structure and function (carotid intima-medial thickness and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation) in one twin astronaut before, during, and after long-duration spaceflight and in his twin serving as a ground-based control. Furthermore, we will measure metabolomics (targeted and untargeted approaches) and genomic markers (DNA methylation, mRNA gene expression, telomere length) to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved. A panel of biomarkers of oxidative and inflammatory stress will be measured in venous blood samples and 24-hour (in-flight) and 48-hour (pre- and post-flight) urine pools twice before flight, early (flight days 15 and 60) and late (2 weeks before landing) during the mission, and early in the post-flight recovery phase (approximately 3-5 days after landing). Arterial structure, assessed from measures of intima-media thickness, will be measured at the same times. Arterial function will be assessed using brachial flow-mediated dilation, a well-validated measure used to assess endothelium-dependent vasodilation and a sensitive predictor of atherosclerotic risk, only before and after spaceflight. Discussion: Pre- and in-flight data collection is in progress for the space-flown twin, and similar data have been obtained from the ground-based twin. Blood and urine samples will be batch processed when received from ISS after the conclusion of the 1-year mission. Results from these individual subjects will be compared to the larger complement of subjects participating in the companion study currently ongoing in ISS astronauts.

Lee, Stuart M. C.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Analysis by NASA's VESGEN Software of Vascular Branching in the Human Retina with a Ground-Based Microgravity Analog

Significant risks for visual impairment were discovered recently in astronauts following spaceflight, especially after long-duration missions.1 We hypothesize that microgravity-induced fluid shifts result in pathological changes within the retinal vasculature that precede visual and other ocular impairments. We therefore are analyzing retinal vessels in healthy subjects with NASA's VESsel GENeration Analysis (VESGEN) software2 before and after head-down tilt (HDT), a ground-based microgravity analog For our preliminary study of masked images, two groups of venous trees with and without small veins (G≥7) were clearly identified by VESGEN analysis. Upon completing all images and unmasking the subject status of pre- and post- HDT, we will determine whether differences in the presence or absence of small veins are important correlates, and perhaps reliable predictors, of other ocular and physiological adaptations to prolonged HDT and microgravity. Greater peripapillary retinal thickening was measured following 70-day HDT bed rest than 14-day HDT bed rest, suggesting that time of HDT may increase the amount of optic disc swelling.3 Spectralis OCT detected retinal nerve fiber layer thickening post HDT, without clinical signs of optic disc edema. Such changes may have resulted from HDT-induced cephalad fluid shifts. Clinical methods for examining adaptive microvascular remodeling in the retina to microgravity space flight are currently not established.

Retina↗