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Author Spotlight: Assessing the Reliability of Doppler Ultrasound in Measuring Leg Blood Flow
Published on: December 15, 2023
Reliability of basal plasma vasopressin concentrations in healthy male adults
Daniel S Quintana1, Lars T Westlye1, Knut T Smerud2
11NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research,Division of Mental Health and Addiction,Institute of Clinical Medicine,Oslo University Hospital,University of Oslo,Oslo,Norway.
Objective:
The neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) play important and interrelated roles in modulating mammalian social behaviour. While the OT system has received considerable research attention for its potential to treat psychiatric symptoms, comparatively little is known about the role of the AVP system in human social behaviour. To better understand the intraindividual stability of basal AVP, the present study assessed the reproducibility of basal plasma AVP concentrations.
Methods:
Basal plasma AVP was assessed at four sampling points separated by 8 days, on average, in 16 healthy adult males.
Results:
Only one out of six comparisons revealed strong evidence for reproducibility of basal AVP concentrations (visit 2 vs. visit 4: r=0.8, p0.1). The concordance correlation coefficient [0.15, 95% CI (-0.55, 0.73)] also revealed poor overall reproducibility.
Conclusion:
Poor reliability of basal AVP concentrations suggests future work covarying AVP with trait markers should proceed with careful consideration of intraindividual fluctuations.
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Monitoring Both Arms:
Monitoring BP in both arms during the initial assessment is advisable, as the systolic value may differ by five to ten mm Hg between arms. For subsequent BP assessments, use the arm with the higher reading.
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The average BP in an adult is typically around 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). In this measurement, the numerator (120) indicates the systolic pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries during the contraction of the heart's ventricles as blood is expelled. The denominator (80) represents the...

