Intracoronary endothelial function assessment, while yielding important information, is not feasible for large-scale application because it is expensive and requires catheterisation. Looking for non-invasive alternatives, measurement of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery was an important step forward. Measuring in a peripheral arterial bed instead of in the coronary circulation...

AIM To establish the regional delay of contrast arrival in magnetic resonance perfusion imaging (MRPI) for the detection of collateral-dependent myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease. DESIGN AND SETTING Observational study, case series; single centre, university hospital. PATIENTS 30 patients with coronary artery disease and collateral-dependent myocardium and 17 healthy volun...

Bluetongue virus (BTV) infection involves domestic and wild ruminants such as sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes, deer, most species of African antelope and various other Artiodactyla as vertebrate hosts. This non-contagious, insect-borne viral Infection is inapparent in the vast majority of infected animals but causes fatal disease in a proportion of infected sheep, deer and wild ruminants. Infec...

Exercise may contribute to the maintenance of vascular function via enhanced liberation and action of bone-marrow-derived progenitor cells. Activity related changes in oxidative stress may also influence the number and function of these cells. In the present study, we sought to determine (i) whether adaptations in reactive hyperaemic FBF (forearm blood flow) response associated with long-term e...

Whether AT(1) (angiotenin II type 1) receptor blockade can prevent the decrease in conduit artery FMD (flow-mediated dilatation) during NOS (nitric oxide synthase) inhibition by alternative endothelial pathways has not been explored previously in humans. In 12 healthy subjects, we measured radial artery diameter (echotracking) and flow (Doppler) during FMD induced by sustained reactive hyperaem...