Cardiovascular Disease

The Division of Surgical Science is involved in several research studies that focus on trying to understand why the heart fails or struggles to recover from myocardial infarction (heart attack). Researchers are exploring how the energy demands of the heart are met during a heart attack.

Research studies indicate that in the heart there is a lot of usage of glucose through a pathway called the polyol pathway. This pathway competes with the energy producing glycolytic pathway. Initial studies have shown that if you inhibit either of two enzymes in this pathway—aldose reductase and/or sorbitol dehydrogenase—you suddenly have immense benefit to the heart. Physicians-scientists in the division are putting these enzymes to the test in small animal studies.

Members of the Division of Surgical Science are also involved in several research studies that focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of ischemic disorders, pulmonary disease, and acute and chronic vascular dysfunctions—such as diabetes, emphysema, atherosclerosis, restenosis (re-narrowing of the arteries), and heart disease-related vascular injury.

Dr. Shi-Fang Yan, Dr. Ann Marie Schmidt, and Dr. Ravi Ramasamy have been awarded a competitive renewal of a program project grant by the NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). This grant supports their collaborative work on RAGE (Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products) and vascular dysfunction. The three investigators will further analyze the contribution of RAGE, a cell-surface receptor that exacerbates inflammation and damage when activated, to heart disease-related vascular injury, particularly in diabetes. They will concentrate primarily on RAGE's relationship to blood vessel damage caused by high glucose and high lipids in the blood and blockage-related oxygen deprivation and blood flow problems. The researchers ultimately hope to shed light on the effectiveness of RAGE blockade as a strategy to protect the stressed vascular system from irreversible injury in human cardiovascular disease, especially in diabetes.