PhD defence: The regulatory role of sympathetic activity in cardiovascular disease and the influence of exercise training

Thomas Svare Ehlers

PhD thesis

This thesis includes two studies investigating middle-aged males with and without elevated blood pressure.

One study investigates the effect of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval spinning training on vascular function and the sympathetic nerve activity to the muscles. This study also investigated the effect of the pannexin-1 channel, which modulates the sympathetic nerve activity to the muscles.

The other study investigated the effect of the pharmaceutical drug colchicine, immediately after ingestion and after 3 weeks of twice daily treatment, on vascular response to ß-adrenergic activation. The thesis concludes that; changes in sympathetic nerve activity to the muscles cannot explain the reduction in blood pressure seen with training in subjects with elevated blood pressure. Furthermore, the pannexin-1 channel cannot explain the reductions in blood pressure mentioned above. Lastly, colchicine causes vasodilation caused by ß-adrenergic activation immediately after ingestion.

Download Table of contents; Perspectives; Summary; Resumé.

2022, 93 pages.

Time

24 February 2022, 14:30

Venue

Auditorium 1, August Krogh Building, Universitetsparken 13, DK-2100 Copenhagen

Opponents

Professor Susanne Bügel (chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Professor José Lopez Calbet, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Canary Islands, Spain.

Professor Stefan Mortensen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.

Supervisor

Professor Ylva Hellsten, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

The thesis is available for inspection at the library, Nørre Allé 51, DK-2200 Copenhagen.