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Contact: Donna Krupa
Office: (301) 634-7209
dkrupa@the-aps.org
Twitter: @Phyziochick
Autonomic Regulation of Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease
Programming highlights from latest conference sponsored by The American Physiological Society
BETHESDA, Md. (June 11, 2012) —The autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls unconscious actions such as breathing and digestion. The system also controls heart rate, blood pressure, and other critical cardiovascular functions. When the system’s regulation goes awry it can lead to problems for the heart and other parts of the circulatory system. In turn, these problems can have an effect throughout the body as the circulatory system is responsible for delivering life-giving oxygen and nutrients.
The latest conference to be sponsored by the American Physiological Society is “Autonomic Regulation of Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease,” which will be held July 7-10, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. Sessions will explore the autonomic interactive mechanisms behind hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and panic disorders, among others. Such presentations will include studies conducted in both animals and humans and will explore the potential of these findings for translational research in the future. Topics will include the role of endocrine mediators in reflexes and areas of the central nervous system that are known to regulate sympathetic function. Symposia and poster abstracts will focus on reactive oxidant stress, nitric oxide, angiotensin II, angiotensin (1-7), glutamate, GABA and the transcriptional and translational regulation of the receptors for many of these mediators.
Featured Speakers and Topics – Confirmed
Top researchers from leading universities and medical centers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia have been confirmed. Plenary lectures will include presentations by:
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Curt Sigmund, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Curt Sigmund, Ph.D., will kick off the conference with his plenary lecture, “Advances in the Central Renin-Angiotensin System” on Sunday (7/8/12). Sigmund is a professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Iowa. He also serves as the director of the Transgenic and Gene Targeting Facility, the Center on Functional Genomics of Hypertension, and the Carver Research Program of Excellence on Functional Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease.
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Frans Leenen, M.D., Ph.D. is director of the Hypertension Clinic at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology in the Departments of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He will deliver his plenary lecture, “Neuromodulatory Pathways and Central Control of Sympathetic Activity in Hypertension and Heart Failure,” on Monday (7/9/12).
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Lawrence Sinoway, Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute
Lawrence Sinoway, M.D., is director of the Penn State University Heart and Vascular Institute. He also serves as a distinguished professor of medicine at Penn State and principal investigator/director of the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). His research spans a variety of topics related to the sympathetic nervous system’s effects on the cardiovascular system. He will deliver his plenary lecture, “Muscle Sympathetic Reflexes in Humans,” on Tuesday (7/10/12).
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Irving Zucker, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Irving Zucker, Ph.D., specializes in the interactions of the nervous and cardiovascular systems as they relate to heart disease and hypertension. As chair of the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he and his colleagues’ research focuses on the role of the central brain mechanisms on neurohormonal adjustments in cardiovascular regulation. As co-chair of the organizing committee, he will provide an overview of the state of the science at the opening on Saturday (7/7/12).
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The full program is available online and members of the press are invited to attend. For information regarding press passes for the conference please contact Donna Krupa at dkrupa@the-aps.org, 301.634.7209 or @Phyziochick.
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About the American Physiological Society (APS)
The American Physiological Society (APS) is a nonprofit organization devoted to fostering education, scientific research, and dissemination of information in the physiological sciences. APS publishes 13 scholarly, peer-reviewed journals covering specialized aspects of physiology. The Society was founded in 1887 and today has more than 10,500 members.