Autonomic Nervous System Diseases

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a structured combined exercise program can improve heart health, menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life in postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65 years. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the exercise program improve heart rate variability, which shows how well the heart is controlled by the nervous system? Does the exercise program lower menopausal symptoms? Does the exercise program improve sleep quality and quality of life? Researchers will compare women who join the exercise program with women who continue their usual daily activities. Participants in the exercise group will take part in a supervised exercise program for 12 weeks. They will exercise 2 days each week. Each session will last 45 minutes and will include warm-up, balance, strengthening, coordination, flexibility, and cool-down exercises. Participants in the control group will continue their usual daily activities during the study.

This is a two-component prospective study of adult aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients admitted to the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NSICU) at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Component 1 (active upon IRB approval) validates Brain4Care (B4C) extensometry-derived noninvasive cerebral autoregulation (CA) indices against invasive ICP-derived equivalents in aSAH patients with open external ventricular drains (EVDs), and characterizes the prospective natural history of multi-modal CA parameter evolution through the delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) window (admission through Day 14). Component 2 (activated upon PI readiness declaration) assesses the within-subject effect of cervical sympathetic block (CSB) and transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) on CA parameters in enrolled aSAH patients.

This study will investigate whether a single dose of beetroot juice can improve cardiovascular responses and recovery after exercise in adults with Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is associated with higher blood pressure, impaired blood vessel function, and reduced autonomic control of the heart, all of which increase cardiovascular risk and may affect how the body responds to and recovers from physical activity. Beetroot juice is naturally rich in dietary nitrate, which is converted in the body into nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood vessels relax and improve blood flow. While these effects have been demonstrated in healthy individuals, less is known about their impact in people with Type 2 Diabetes. In this study, approximately 16 to 20 adults aged 40 to 65 years with Type 2 Diabetes will take part. After an online screening and consent process, eligible participants will attend two laboratory visits at Oxford Brookes University. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, participants will receive beetroot juice during one visit and a nitrate-depleted placebo during the other visit. During each visit, participants will undergo physiological measurements, including blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and capillary blood glucose. Participants will then complete a short session of supervised, light-to-moderate cycling exercise. Measurements will continue during the recovery period to assess how quickly the cardiovascular system returns to resting levels. The main outcomes are systolic blood pressure and heart rate variability during recovery, which reflect cardiovascular regulation and autonomic function. Secondary outcomes include diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose, and markers related to nitric oxide availability. This study may help determine whether a simple, dietary-based intervention such as beetroot juice can support cardiovascular function and improve recovery after exercise in people living with Type 2 Diabetes.

This study adopts a strategy combining basic research with clinical investigation to systematically explore the therapeutic value of cardioneuroablation in the treatment of vagally-mediated bradycardia. The study design fully considers the complexity of the scientific question and the feasibility of clinical translation. Through rigorous experimental design and standardized operational procedures, the reliability and reproducibility of the study results are ensured.

Autonomic nervous system diseases can cause abnormalities in the circulatory system, leading to malignant arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Standardized, operable, and simplified diagnostic indicators are urgently needed to evaluate autonomic nervous function, particularly cardiac autonomic nervous function. The investigators use HUTT in order to provide data support for cardiac autonomic nervous system evaluation.