Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial and radial arteries is an important research tool for assessment of endothelial function in vivo, and is nitric oxide (NO) dependent. The leg skeletal muscle vascular bed is an important territory for studies in exercise physiology. However, the role of endothelial NO in the FMD response of lower limb arteries has never been investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of NO to FMD in the superficial femoral artery in healthy subjects. Since physical inactivity may affect endothelial function, and therefore NO availability, spinal cord-injured (SCI) individuals were included as a model of extreme deconditioning. In eight healthy men (34 ± 13 years) and six SCI individuals (37 ± 10 years), the 5 min FMD response in the superficial femoral artery was assessed by echo-Doppler, both during infusion of saline and during infusion of the NO synthase blocker N G -monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). In a subset of the controls (n = 6), the 10 min FMD response was also examined using the same procedure. The 5 min FMD response in controls (4.2 ± 0.3%) was significantly diminished during L-NMMA infusion (1.0 ± 0.2%, P < 0.001). In SCI, L-NMMA also significantly decreased the FMD response (from 8.2 ± 0.4% during saline to 2.4 ± 0.5% during L-NMMA infusion). The hyperaemic flow response during the first 45 s after cuff deflation was lower in both groups during infusion of L-NMMA, but the effect of L-NMMA on FMD persisted in both groups after correction for the shear stress stimulus. The 10 min FMD was not affected by L-NMMA (saline: 5.4 ± 1.6%, L-NMMA: 5.6 ± 1.5%). Superficial femoral artery FMD in response to distal arterial occlusion for a period of 5 min is predominantly mediated by NO in healthy men and in the extremely deconditioned legs of SCI individuals.

.-The aim of the study was to assess endothelial function, measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), in an inactive extremity (leg) and chronically active extremity (arm) within one subject. Eleven male spinal cord-injured (SCI) individuals and eleven male controls (C) were included. Echo Doppler measurements were performed to measure FMD responses after 10 and 5 min of arterial occlusion of the leg (superficial femoral artery, SFA) and the arm (brachial artery, BA), respectively. A nitroglycerine spray was administered to determine the endothelium independent vasodilatation in the SFA. In the SFA, relative changes in FMD were significantly enhanced in SCI compared with C (SCI: 14.1 Ϯ 1.3%; C: 9.2 Ϯ 2.3%), whereas no differences were found in the BA (SCI: 12.5 Ϯ 2.9%; C: 14.2 Ϯ 3.3%). Because the FMD response is directly proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus, the FMD response was also expressed relative to the shear rate. No differences between the groups were found for the FMD-to-shear rate ratio in the SFA (SCI:0.061 Ϯ 0.023%/s Ϫ1 ; C: 0.049 Ϯ 0.024%/s Ϫ1 ), whereas the FMD-to-shear rate ratio was significantly decreased in the BA of SCI individuals (SCI: 0.037 Ϯ 0.01%/s Ϫ1 ; C: 0.061 Ϯ 0.027%/s Ϫ1 ). The relative dilatory response to nitroglycerine did not differ between the groups. (SCI: 15.6 Ϯ 2.0%; C: 13.4 Ϯ 2.3%). In conclusion, our results indicate that SCI individuals have a preserved endothelial function in the inactive legs and possibly an attenuated endothelial function in the active arms compared with controls. vascular endothelial function; deconditioning; ultrasound THE ENDOTHELIUM plays an essential role in vascular homeostasis and is able to respond to physical and chemical stimuli by the synthesis and release of vasoactive, thromboregulatory, and growth factor substances (37). Impaired endothelial function has been suggested as a key early event in the development of atherosclerosis, and a high correlation between endothelial dysfunction and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and aging, has been reported (6 -8, 12, 29, 33, 47, 48). Besides the above-mentioned traditional risk factors, it is well known that physical inactivity is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (32). However, at present, the relationship between inactivity and endothelial dysfunction is not clear. In individuals with paraplegia, the part of the body below the lesion level is paralyzed and thus extremely inactive (20,39). In contrast, the upper limbs are often relatively active because the arms are used for ambulation due to their wheelchair-bound life-style (43). A spinal cord injury (SCI), therefore, offers a unique "human model of nature" to assess peripheral vascular adaptations to inactivity (legs) and activity (arms) on endothelial function within one subject.Healthy vessels are capable of accommodating to an increase in blood flow by dilating the internal vessel diameter, a phenomenon called fl...

Reorientation of the acetabulum may be required in adolescents and young adults with developmental dysplasia of the hip. We have carried out a retrospective 5,6 results of these procedures/' Although most authors argue that they reduce the risk of secondary degenerative arthri tis,7 this has never been demonstrated in clinical studies.review of 51 hips after triple osteotomy with an average We have reviewed 51 hips at between 8 and 15 years after follow-up of ten years (8 to 15). Forty-eight hips (94%) were available for review and of these 39 (81%) were improved compared with before operation, 29 (60%) scoring good or excellent. Radiographic assessment showed improvement of the average centre-edge angle by 19°, the acetabular index by 12° and the anterior triple osteotomy. We have previously described the results after four years.8 PATIENTS AND METHODSBetween 1980 and 1987 we carried out 51 triple acetabular centre-edge angle by 26°. The degree of osteoarthritis osteotomies on 43 patients. There were 38 females and 5 progressed by one grade in ten hips (21%) over a period males; the mean age at operation was 28 years (14 to 46). of ten years.

The physiological aging process is associated with endothelial dysfunction, as assessed by flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Aging is also characterized by increased sympathetic tone. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to assess whether acute changes in sympathetic activity alter FMD in the leg. For this purpose, the FMD of the superficial femoral artery was determined in 10 healthy young (22 +/- 1 yr) and 8 healthy older (69 +/- 1 yr) men in three different conditions: 1) at baseline, 2) during reduction of sympathetic activity, and 3) during sympathetic stimulation. Reduction of sympathetic activity was achieved by performing a maximal cycling exercise, leading to postexercise attenuation of the sympathetic responsiveness in the exercised limb. A cold pressor test was used to increase sympathetic activity. Nitroglycerin (NTG) was used to assess endothelium-independent vasodilation in all three conditions. Our results showed that, in older men, the FMD and NTG responses were significantly lower compared with young men (P = 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively). In older men, sympathetic activity significantly affected the FMD response [repeated-measures (RM) ANOVA: P = 0.01], with a negative correlation between the level of sympathetic activity and FMD (R = -0.41, P = 0.049). This was not the case for NTG responses (ANOVA; P = 0.48). FMD and NTG responses in young men did not differ among the three conditions (RM-ANOVA: P = 0.32 and P = 0.31, respectively). In conclusion, in older men, FMD of the femoral artery is impaired. Local attenuation of the sympathetic responsiveness partly restores the FMD in these subjects. In contrast, in young subjects, acute modulation of the sympathetic nervous system activity does not alter flow-mediated vasodilation in the leg.

Deconditioning is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Exercise reduces this risk, possibly by improving the vascular endothelial nitric oxide (NO) pathway. The effect of deconditioning on the NO pathway is largely unknown. This study was designed to assess baseline NO availability in the leg vascular bed after extreme, long-term deconditioning (spinal cord-injured individuals, SCI) as well as after moderate, short-term deconditioning (4 weeks of unilateral lower limb suspension, ULLS). For this purpose, seven SCI were compared with seven matched controls. Additionally, seven healthy subjects were studied pre-and post-ULLS. Leg blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography at baseline and during infusion of 5 incremental dosages of N G -monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) into the femoral artery. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was infused to test vascular responsiveness to NO. Baseline leg vascular resistance tended to be higher in SCI compared with controls (37 ± 4 versus 31 ± 2 arbitrary units (AU), P = 0.06). Deconditioning altered neither the vasoconstrictor response to L-NMMA (increase in resistance in SCI versus controls: 102 ± 33% versus 69 ± 9%; pre-versus post-ULLS: 95 ± 18% versus 119 ± 15%), nor the vascular responsiveness to NO. In conclusion, two human in vivo models of deconditioning show a preserved baseline NO availability in the leg skeletal muscle vascular bed.