Domestic researchers have developed a technology to observe in real time the effects of chronic stress on cardiovascular health.
A research team led by Professor Yoo Hong-ki of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Professor Kim Jin-won of Korea University Anam Hospital's cardiovascular center announced on the 20th that they have developed imaging technology capable of observing the movement of cells within blood vessels caused by heartbeats.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and the second leading cause in South Korea. It primarily occurs due to aging, but recently, due to changes in diet and lack of exercise, the number of patients in their teens has been rapidly increasing.
Cardiovascular disease is known to be influenced by psychological factors. Strong mental stress can exacerbate cardiovascular diseases. However, research on the effects of mental stress on blood vessels is still lacking.
The research team developed imaging technology that combines a tunable lens and in vivo optical microscopy to effectively visualize the movement of blood vessels under stressful conditions. This technology allows for simultaneous observation of arterial and cellular movements within the blood vessels. As a result, the 'correlation coefficient,' which refers to the relationship between images, increased fourfold, and the number of images that can be captured per hour increased by 1.5 times.
Using the technology developed this time, the research team confirmed the progression of atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries of mice exposed to chronic stress compared to healthy mice. The carotid arteries of mice under chronic stress showed a 6.09-fold increase in bone marrow cells. Tracking images revealed that bone marrow cells increased by 2.45 times. Tissue analysis confirmed that stress increases the size and inflammation of atherosclerotic plaques while thinning the fibrous cap, thereby increasing instability.
The research team assessed that they have succeeded in measuring the effects of chronic stress on cardiovascular diseases in real time through this study.
Professor Yoo noted, 'With excellent temporal resolution, we can observe the effects of stress on cardiovascular diseases at the cellular level in real time,' adding, 'In the future, it is expected to be utilized in finding the onset process of stress-related cardiovascular diseases and developing new treatment methods.'
The research results were introduced in the international journal 'Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology' on Oct. 10 of last year.
Reference materials
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology(2024), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.321566