Renovascular Disease - Lilach O. Lerman

Xiang Y. Zhu, M.D., Ph.D.

For years, cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer in the United States. Mayo Clinic researchers have predicted more heart death in nation's future according to their recent study. Thus, the significance of developing and assessing new diagnostic techniques and novel therapies for fighting cardiovascular disease should be a high priority of healthcare. The research team I work with has applied high-resolution computed tomography (CT) methods to detect and explore the effects of major risk factors of cardiovascular disease like hypertension and hypercholesterolemia on the myocardial and renal microvessels. With advanced medical imaging techniques, we are able to identify the structural and functional changes of microcirculation in heart and kidney, in order to develop and evaluate new approaches to these pathogenic conditions. These studies are likely to shed important light on the mechanisms of atherosclerotic heart and kidney disease, and suggest new preventative and interventional measures.

Furthermore, I have been working on developing novel imaging technique with high resolution micro-CT, which can identify early changes in the cardiac and renal vascular structure. In addition, one of my current projects is to focus on the endothelial progenitor cell transplantation in atherosclerotic renal artery disease. The future direction of my research is looking for better candidates for the cell therapy of cardiovascular diseases.