Characterization of ischemic muscle of peripheral artery disease patients by elemental concentration using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Date
2015-04-24Author
Duraisamy, Nithyanandhi
Becker, Ryan A.
Geddam, David A.R.
Vu, Linh Q.
Advisor
Cluff, KimMetadata
Show full item recordCitation
Duraisamy, Nithyanandhi. Characterization of Ischemic Muscle of Peripheral Artery Disease Patients by Elemental Concentration Using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. --In Proceedings: 11th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, p. 40
Abstract
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) characterized by atherosclerotic blockages of the arteries
supplying blood to lower extremities and affects approximately 10 million lives in the United
States. Patients diagnosed with PAD have increased risks of limb loss and mortality. The classic
symptom of PAD is intermittent claudication (IC), defined as walking-induced calf pain and gait
dysfunction relieved by rest. In more advanced disease (critical limb ischemia), the patient
experiences pain at rest and/or tissue loss. Functional testing, such as the ankle brachial index
(ABI), measured as the ratio of systolic blood pressure in the ankle to that in the arm, is the most
common test for the diagnosis of PAD. The ABI can identify reduced blood flow (due to
blockages in the arteries) based on blood pressure differences. However, there is a need to
measure more than just abnormal blood flow, there is a need to measure the secondary effects on
the end organ (skeletal muscle). In this study, we evaluated the hypothesis that differences in
muscle elemental composition correlate with clinical diagnosis and may be used to characterize
severity of muscle damage. The objective of this study was to compare elemental composition
including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfur in myofibers of gastrocnemius
biopsies from control subjects and PAD patients at different stages of disease. We evaluated
gastrocnemius biopsies from three subjects including one control (person without PAD), one
claudicating patient (ABI<0.9) and one critical limb ischemia patient (ABI<0.4). Using a
scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), differences in
elemental concentrations between control and PAD muscle samples were quantified. In total, 15
myofibers were analyzed, 5 from each tissue specimen. An analysis of variance was performed
to identify significant differences in muscle elemental concentration. A statistical analysis of
variance revealed significant differences in elemental concentrations for sodium (p=0.0001),
potassium (p=0.0094), calcium (p=0.003), magnesium (p=0.0001) and sulfur (p=0.004) among
control, claudicating and critical limb ischemic muscle samples. Scanning electron microscopy
and EDS were able to characterize changes to the elemental concentration in PAD muscle, which
correlated with clinical diagnosis of PAD. These findings may aid in providing a foundation for
the development of specialized preventive and rehabilitative treatment plans by providing new
targets for treatment based on the underlying altered elemental concentrations.
Description
Presented to the 11th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Heskett Center, Wichita State University, April 24, 2015.
Research completed at Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, & Department of Human Performance Studies, College of Education