Impact of Aerobic Exercise Training on Sympathetic Vasoconstriction and Vascular Function in Essential Hypertension

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Sympathetic nervous activity plays an important role in the development of hypertension and studies have shown that the pannexin-1 channel is involved in the signalling of the sympathetic activity to the vascular bed. The main project aim is to investigate the effects of 10 weeks of high intensity training on the effect of the sympathetic nervous activity on vascular function in individuals with essential hypertension. A secondary aim is to assess the role of essential hypertension and physical activity on vascular endothelial function,

Official Title
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Impact of Aerobic Exercise Training on Sympathetically Mediated Vasoconstriction and Vascular Function in Individuals With Essential Hypertension (IMPROVEH)

Conditions
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Hypertension,Essential

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Sedentary men and women age 35 - 65 years Resting blood pressure >140/90 mmHg or Resting blood pressure <140/90 mmHg Essential hypertension Non or exclusively antihypertensive medication Exclusion Criteria: Hypertensive condition other than essential hypertension Other chronical diseases Smoking Excess alcohol intake or drug abuse

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 35 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Randomized double blinded case-control interventional study
Masking: Triple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Hypertensive<br>Men and women in age-group 35-65 years Resting blood pressure of >140/90 mmHg non or only anti-hypertensive medication | Other: Training<br>* 10 weeks of high intensity exercise training. 2-3 trainings per week of approx. 40 min.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control<br>Men and women in age-group 35-65 years Resting blood pressure of <140/90 mmHg no medication | Other: Training<br>* 10 weeks of high intensity exercise training. 2-3 trainings per week of approx. 40 min.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blood pressure | Changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pannexin channel function assessed in vivo | Pannexin channel function is assessed by measurement of vascular conductance with and without channel inhibition | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Pannexin channel distribution in skeletal muscle tissue | Pannexin channel distribution is assessed immunohistochemically in muscle samples | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Sympathetic activity | Direct measurement of Muscle Sympathetic Nervous Activity via microneurography | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Vascular function | Vascular conductance measured by ultrasound doppler during infusion of vasoactive substances | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Mitochondrial function in endothelial cells | Endothelial cell mitochondrial respiration is measured by High Resolution Respirometry | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Reactive oxygen species formation in in endothelial cells | Endothelial cell production of reactive oxygen species is measured by High Resolution Respirometry | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Rheology | Platelet rheology. The viscoelastic measurements are based on attainment of the Gel Point (GP) from which the fractal dimension, df, is determined. | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Platelet reactivity | Platelet reactivity is assessed by multiplate aggregometry | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Maximal oxygen uptake | Direct Measurement of oxygen uptake during a graded test on cycle ergometer | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Body Composition | Measured by Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Endothelial cell characterization | Assessment of protein and mRNA-levels of proteins of relevance for endothelial function | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 
| Skeletal muscle characterization | Assessment of protein and mRNA-levels of proteins of relevance for skeletal muscle function | Before and after 8 weeks of training | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Pannexin-1 channel