Endothelial Function

"Vascular endothelial function is critical for the health of the organs in the body. It was once believed that endothelial dysfunction was only seen with age and diseases such as diabetes. This reduction in endothelial function causes an impaired blood flow response to stressors on the skin such as heat and pressure and reduced blood flow to vital organs such as the heart and kidney causing senescence in the cardiovascular system. With what the World Health Organization calls an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, endothelial impairment is even being seen in young people. One factor believed to be a principal cause of endothelial dysfunction is high concentrations of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are commonly produced and neutralized in the body. Some free radicals are produced and used for cellular communication, and others are produced as a natural product of cellular metabolism. For example, nitric oxide is released from mitochondria and vascular endothelial cells to increase circulation in the tissue. Two to five percent of oxygen used by mitochondria forms free radicals . With exercise, oxidative phosphorylation increases dramatically, increasing the production of free radicals. For example, using electron spin resonance spectroscopy there was a 70% increase in free radical production from electrically stimulated rat muscle compared to controls. It is of no surprise, then, that exercise is considered an inflammatory process. (Jerrold Scott Petrofsky, Michael Laymon B, Hani Al-Nakhli, Lindsay Cardinale, Joan Hermosura, Courtney Mitchell and Dennis Wilson B- The Effect of Vitamin D and E and Coenzyme Q-10 on Endothelial Function in a Young Population)."

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Last date updated on May, 2025