Healthy Age-dependent Reference Values for Microvascular Structure and Function

• Conditions: Vascular Endothelium; Arterial Stiffness; Healthy Ageing; Microvascular Circulation
• Interventions: Other: Age

• Registration Number: NCT04897191
• Lead Sponsor: University of Surrey

Brief Summary

The greatest challenge in our ageing society are cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, heart attack, peripheral artery disease of the legs with non-healing wounds (ulcers), or diabetes. How healthy ageing affects the smallest blood vessels (microcirculation) and is not well understood. One reason for this is that no generally available medical instrument has the resolution to study the microcirculation. The recently developed optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), currently mainly used by eye doctors, is able to visualise the microcirculation. We have developed an automated software (OCTAVA) to determine metrics to characterise the microcirculation on the layers of density, diameter and tortuosity.

In the current study we aim at providing reference values of these metrics in hands and feet of healthy people according to age together with macrovascular function in arms and legs.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2021-05
• Study Start: 2021-05-18
• Study First Submitted: 2021-05-18
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-05-20
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-05-20
• Study First Posted: 2021-05-21
• Last Update Posted: 2021-05-21
• Primary Completion: 2021-07
• Study Completion: 2021-08

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 50

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Healthy	Age	Healthy people age 20-70 years

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Microvascular density	1 day (One timepoint during single visit)	Density of skin microvasculature of hand and foot with OCTA at rest and after 5 min distal occlusion
Microvascular diameter	1 day (One timepoint during single visit)	Diameter of skin microvasculature of hand and foot with OCTA at rest and after 5 min distal occlusion
Microvascular turtuosity	1 day (One timepoint during single visit)	Turtuosity of skin microvasculature of hand and foot with OCTA at rest and after 5 min distal occlusion

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Blood pressure	1 day (One timepoint during single visit)	Upper arm blood pressure and leg systolic blood pressure
Endothelial function	1 day (One timepoint during single visit)	Flow-mediated dilation of brachial and common femoral artery with ultrasound
Arterial stiffness	1 day (One timepoint during single visit)	Pulse wave velocity measured with photoplethysmography sensors at hand and foot

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Surrey; 🇬🇧 Guildford, United Kingdom