Dysfunctions in tiny blood vessels, a key predictor of heart disease, can be seen in normal, healthy adolescents. The results may help doctors identify high-risk children and prevent further cardiovascular damage before it is too late, say UK researchers.
鈥淭his is the stage of life where changes to a person鈥檚 body are potentially reversible,鈥� says lead researcher Faisal Khan at the University of Dundee, UK. 鈥淚f you leave it until their 30s or 40s, it is much harder.鈥�
Khan and his colleagues studied the lining of tiny blood vessels, or endothelium, in 158 Scottish children, aged 11 to 14. Within this group, 20% of children showed impaired endothelial activity.
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Though poor lining health was associated with elevated amounts of abdominal fat and diabetic-like blood sugar levels, almost none of the children fell outside the normal range for either trait.
Endothelial deterioration has long been linked with heart disease. This important layer of cells regulates blood pressure and flow and helps prevent clots.
Nutrient transfer
Obesity, smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise are all predictors of endothelial dysfunction in adults. Low birth weight and lack of breast-feeding are also predictors of endothelial dysfunction in children.
But patterns of damage in the body鈥檚 tiniest vessels, which make up more than 95% of the circulatory system, had yet to be identified. These crucial vessels are the site for nutrient transfer between blood and tissues. Key advances in imaging now mean that pictures showing the health of linings can now be taken non-invasively.
Khan鈥檚 team recruited children who had been part of the large Dundee Infant Feeding study. The team used electrodes to transport small amounts of acetylcholine or sodium nitroprusside, two vessel-dilating drugs, across the skin.
They then determined the blood flow response with lasers, as laser light is scattered by moving blood cells. Slow blood flow and poor dilation are signs of endothelial damage.
David Bates of the British Microcirculation Society is hopeful that peering into the tiny blood vessels will give health care workers an even greater head start in the battle against heart disease. 鈥淭his might provide a much earlier predictive mechanism to say which children, or even babies, are at risk for heart disease.鈥�
The results were presented at the British Association for the Advancement of Science Festival in Exeter, UK.