Microvascular Endothelial Function in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Microvascular optical assessments of peripheral endothelial function in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
IRAS ID
149863
Contact name
Paul A Corris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 3 days
Research summary
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) arises due to the dysfunction of the innermost lining (the endothelium) of the lung blood vessels. It leads to resistance in the blood flow through the lungs and causes symptoms such as breathlessness. Patients with PAH are treated with specialised drug therapy and are under regular review in our specialist centre. Previous studies suggest that the endothelium in other parts of the body's circulation may also be involved in the disease.
Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) and photoplethysmography (PPG) are simple non-invasive techniques of measuring the function of the skin blood vessels, which mostly consist of endothelial tissue. These techniques have demonstrated in previous studies abnormalities in endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease as well as PAH associated with connective tissue disorders.
We therefore propose this pilot study to measure and endothelial function in patients with PAH and re-assessing endothelial function after drug treatment. If this study shows endothelial function measurement to be a viable biomarker, then there is reason to believe that the technique could be used in conjunction with current methods of assessing severity of PAH and response to drug therapy.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NE/0338
Date of REC Opinion
29 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion