Causal association between adiposity and cardiovascular disease

This protocol demonstrates the workflow of the SILICOFCM platform for automatically generating a parametric model of the left ventricle from patient-specific ultrasound images by applying a multi-scale electromechanical model of the heart. This platform enables in silico clinical trials intended to reduce real clinical trials and maximize positive therapeutic...

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a multidisciplinary field that examines how psychological factors, particularly stress, interact with the immune system and impact physical health. Research in PNI has shown that chronic or traumatic stress can disrupt both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. These disruptions contribute to serious health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases.
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...

Based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging with Granger causality analysis, we investigated the alterations in the directed functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and whole brain in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and healthy...

Source: Laboratories of Judith Danovitch and Nicholaus Noles—University of Louisville
Imagine a young child hears an adult say, “I want to watch the news,” then watches the adult press a button on the remote control. A moment later, the television screen turns on. The next day, the child wants to turn on the television screen to watch cartoons. How does the child know what to do? Is it enough to say, “I want to watch cartoons,” or is pushing the button on the...

Causality or causation is a fundamental concept in epidemiology, vital for understanding the relationships between various factors and health outcomes. Despite its importance, there's no single, universally accepted definition of causality within the discipline. Drawing from a systematic review, causality in epidemiology encompasses several definitions, including production, necessary and sufficient, sufficient-component, counterfactual, and probabilistic models. Each has its strengths and...

Pathology of the aorta can lead to severe morbidity and mortality, therefore research of disease progression and potential therapies is warranted. Here, we present a protocol to isolate and excise the murine aorta to aid researchers in their investigation of cardiovascular disease.