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172 - Introductory Essay: Diagnosis and Treatment

from PART IV - DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2010

Mansoor Husain
Affiliation:
Physiology and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto; Division of Cell & Molecular Biology, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada
William C. Aird
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

In previous sections of this textbook, chapters have been assembled to convey the molecular and cellular basis of organ pathophysiology, as viewed through the lens of vascular biology in general and the endothelium in specific. How the endothelium interacts with adjacent vascular smooth muscle cells, circulating blood cells, and the underlying parenchyma of each organ have been exampled, and specific chapters have focused on particular organs and their disease states. These sections provided the knowledge upon which the ensuing chapters are built, but which focus now on diagnosis and treatment.

The endothelium has remarkable, yet largely untapped diagnostic potential. From a bedside physician's viewpoint, the endothelium is difficult to assay. It is hidden from view and cannot be inspected, palpated, percussed, or auscultated. Moreover, the endothelium is poorly circumscribed and therefore not readily amenable to conventional radiological studies. However, the endothelium has several properties that make it an ideal target for therapy. First, it is widely distributed and therefore provides a window into every organ in the body. Second, it is rapidly and preferentially exposed to systemically delivered agents. Third, as an input–output device, the endothelium is highly malleable and responsive to exogenously administered compounds.

In Part IV, the authors provide their perspective on how current knowledge may affect real or potential advances in the diagnosis and treatment of endothelial-based diseases. Advances in diagnosis include the measurement of circulating soluble mediators (Chapter 173), and circulating blood endothelial cells (Chapter 174); or circulating microparticles (Chapter 175). Other diagnostic assays include molecular imaging (Chapter 176), real-time imaging (Chapter 177), and flow studies (Chapter 178).

Type
Chapter
Information
Endothelial Biomedicine , pp. 1599 - 1601
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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  • Introductory Essay: Diagnosis and Treatment
    • By Mansoor Husain, Physiology and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto; Division of Cell & Molecular Biology, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada
  • Edited by William C. Aird, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Endothelial Biomedicine
  • Online publication: 04 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511546198.173
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  • Introductory Essay: Diagnosis and Treatment
    • By Mansoor Husain, Physiology and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto; Division of Cell & Molecular Biology, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada
  • Edited by William C. Aird, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Endothelial Biomedicine
  • Online publication: 04 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511546198.173
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introductory Essay: Diagnosis and Treatment
    • By Mansoor Husain, Physiology and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto; Division of Cell & Molecular Biology, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada
  • Edited by William C. Aird, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Endothelial Biomedicine
  • Online publication: 04 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511546198.173
Available formats
×