Participants needed for biology student's study

Robert Restaino has been armed with an ultrasound machine and a blood pressure cuff for the last year gathering and analyzing data for his study about metabolic syndrome in women.

The Eastern New Mexico University biology student is still looking for participants for the study, which will compare the vascular health of women with and without metabolic syndrome and specifically measures vein dilation in two major arteries of the body.

According to Matthew Barlow, an assistant professor at ENMU overseeing the study, metabolic syndrome can progress into hypertension, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Younger women who have metabolic syndrome have a vasculature (blood vessel system) resembling that of older women, according to Barlow.

The study seeks to find the primary cause of this vascular aging and find noninvasive means with which to reverse it.

Restaino has been working on this study for a year and a half as part of his master's degree in biology, with an emphasis in cardiovascular physiology.

"It's a full-time job in a way," said Restaino. "You come to the lab in the morning and stay through the afternoon and evening. There's always work to do."

The study breaks down into three different visits for participants.

According to Barlow, the first visit is to determine which of the two groups a participant will be placed in, metabolic syndrome or those without it.

"We look at their biomarkers, their cholesterol levels, their fasting glucose levels, their percent body fat, blood pressure and resting heart rate, which gives us an indication of what group we categorize them in," Barlow said.

During the second visit, student technicians measure participant's their blood pressure and heart response at rest. The volunteer then has a blood pressure cuff placed on their arm or leg to block blood flow to the brachial artery (in the arm) and then the popliteal artery (an artery behind the knee). The ultrasound is then used to image the participant's blood vessel response, according to Restaino.

"After that, we test the entire process with exercise," said Barlow. "We use a hand grip and add weight at two minute intervals until the participant can no longer squeeze at the cadence we want them to squeeze at. This process is called task failure."

Jillian Holbert: Portales News-TribuneEastern New Mexico University student Lourdes Santiago runs blood tests on her

professor Matthew Barlow in a physiology laboratory on campus.

Barlow said that the third visit is the same as the second except that the second visit takes place at the beginning of the participant's menstrual cycle when estrogen, a sex hormone that aids in vasodilatation, is at its lowest possible level.

"What we're showing is that endogenous estrogen could help to increase vasodilation in both populations," said Barlow.

Restaino works with a group of undergraduate students to compile and analyze the data from the study and describes Barlow as a hands-on teacher.

"He's not ready to step out the lab yet, which is really nice because he's always got my back," said Restaino.

"I don't think you can just preach and teach," added Barlow, "I think you have to teach by example."?