| Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology Section |
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| Overview: The Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology Section studies the role of age- and disease-related changes in calcium signaling in vascular smooth muscle on vascular responses in aging, hypertension, and atherosclerosis and seeks to understand how such changes affect drug responses. The high prevalence of hypertension and atherosclerotic disease in the elderly and their contribution to morbidity and mortality make understanding therapeutic responses and development of new therapies a priority. |
| In the laboratory study of calcium channel variants is allowing improved understanding of how changes in cellular calcium homeostasis change cellular function. In addition such studies give insight into mechanisms of drug action and provide possible new targets for drug action. Clinical studies of forearm vascular responsiveness allow testing of the cellular and molecular findings as well as evaluation of proposed new therapeutic targets. The applied goal of these studies is the development of new approaches to reverse impairments in vascular response in hypertension and atherosclerosis. In addition these studies often provide insight into mechanism of effect of currently used therapies. |
| Investigators |
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