Joe Ostrem, doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology, is the lead author of an article to be published in the Journal of Clinical Ultrasound. The article, “Presence of a High Flow-Mediated Constriction Phenomenon Prior to Flow-Mediated Dilation in Normal Weight, Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents, ” describes a new method of assessing examining vascular function using ultrasound imaging. The authors reported that approximately 67% of children and adolescents measured demonstrated high flow-mediated constriction during reactive hyperemia (increase of blood flow). These children demonstrating this phenomenon had a greater body mass index and had a greater degree of vascular dysfunction than those children who did not demonstrate this affect.

Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, along with School of Kinesiology alumni Nick Evanoff, M.S., and Aaron Kelly, Ph.D., are co-authors on the article.