CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Head of the research unit:

Prof. Dr. L. Van Bortel
Email: luc.vanbortel@UGent.be

Professors :

L. Van Bortel, Professor, MD, PhD
P. De Paepe, Professor, MD, PhD
S. Rottey, Professor, MD, PhD
R. Vander Stichele, Professor, MD, PhD
M. Bogaert, Professor emeritus, MD, PhD (honorary)

Scientific staff :

M. Azermai, Master of nursing and midwifery
J. Bossuyt, Master of biomedical sciences
J. Bourgeois, Master of Pharmaceutical sciences
T. De Backer, MD, PhD
F. De Boeck, MD
I. Fabry, MD
J. Kips, Civil engineer, PhD
E. Van Bever, Master of Pharmaceutical sciences
G. Van Lancker, MD
S. Vermeersch, Civil engineer, PhD

The research unit is linked to Drug research Unit Ghent (D.R.U.G), the phase I and phase II clinical trials of the University Hospital Ghent.

Research areas

This unit is mainly concerned with two research areas.

One area investigates the cardiovascular risk originating from arterial stiffening. Arterial stiffness is occurring mainly in elderly subjects and leads to a high pulse pressure and (isolated) systolic hypertension. A high pulse pressure is associated with high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Arterial stiffness is assessed at different territories using non-invasive echo-tracking techniques. This technique allows to calculate arterial compliance and distensibility. Clinical Pharmacology of drugs against arterial stiffening is studied: new therapeutic approaches to increase arterial compliance and distensibility are investigated. The unit has a national and international collaboration in this field.

The second area is concerned with evidence and information about pharmacotherapy, but also about toxic substances. This starts with the retrieval of information from the literature, and synthesis of the information found as systematic reviews and meta-analyses; the unit functions as one of the review groups for the Cochrane-initiative for systematic reviews, in this case about vasoactive substances. The unit provides validated information to organizations such as the Belgian Health Council and the Belgian National Health Service, but also to individuals (professionals and patients). There is also interest in the perception of the information provided, and in its impact. The unit collaborates with the national drug use evaluation system (Pharmanet) and with the project "Scenario's for drug use evaluation in hospitals" of the Ministry of Health.

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Perspectives

The unit aims at further investigating mechanisms of arterial stiffening and therapeutic approaches to stop or reverse it. Such therapies might decrease the increasing prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension with ageing.

The unit wants to improve its expertise in retrieval, synthesis and communication of evidence concerning medication and toxic substances, with the aim of becoming part of a wider system of medical technology assessment.

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Selected publications

Van Bortel LM, Balkestein EJ, van der Heijden JJ, Vanmolkot FH, Staessen JA, Kragten JA, Vredeveld JW, Safar ME, Struijker Boudier HA, Hoeks AP. Non-invasive assessment of local arterial pulse pressure; comparison of applanation tonometry and echo-tracking. J Hypertens 2001; 19:1037-1044.

Van Bortel LMAB, Struijker-Boudier, Safar ME. Pulse pressure, arterial stiffness, and drug treatment of hypertension. Hypertension 2001; 38: 914-921.

Balkestein EJ, Staessen JA, Wang J-G, Van Bortel LM, Barlassina C, Bianchi G, Brand E, Herrmann S-M, Struijker-Boudier HA. Carotid and femoral artery stiffness in relation to three candidate genes in a white population. Hypertension 2001; 38:1190-1197.

Van Bortel LM, Duprez D, Starmans-Kool MJ, Safar ME, Giannattasio C, Cockcroft J, Kaiser DR, Thuillez C. The first consensus conference on clinical applications of arterial stiffness, task force III: recommendations on user procedures. Am J Hypertens, 2002; 15:445-452.

De Hoon JN, Pickkers P, Smits P, Struijker-Boudier HAJ, Van Bortel LMAB. Calcitonin gene-related peptide: exploring its vasodilating mechanism of action in humans. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2003; 73:312-321.

Risha PG, Vervaet C, Vergote G, Van Bortel L, Remon JP. Drug formulations intended for the global market should be tested for stability under tropical climatic conditions. Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 2003; 59:135-141.

De Hoon JN, Willigers JM, Troost J, Struijker-Boudier HA, Van Bortel LM. Cranial and peripheral interictal vascular changes in migraine patients. Cephalalgia. 2003; 23:96-104.

Lemogoum D, Flores G, Van den Abeele W, Ciarka A, Leeman M, Degaute JP, van de Borne Ph, Van Bortel L. Validity of pulse pressure and augmentation index as surrogate measures of arterial sittness during beta-adrenergic stimulation. J. Hypertens 2004; 22:511-517.

van Ittersum FJ, Schram MT, van der Heijden-Spek JJ, Van Bortel LM, Elte JW, Biemond P, Staessen JA, Donker AJ, Stehouwer CD. Autonomic nervous function, arterial tiffness and blood pressure in patients with type I diabetes mellitus and normal urinary albumin excretion. J. Hum. Hypertens. 2004; 18:761-768.

De Brabander C, Vervaet C, Van Bortel L, Remon JP. Bioavailability of ibuprofen from hot-melt extruded mini-matrices. Int. J. Pharmaceut 2004; 22:973-981.

Segers P, Rabben SI, De Backer J, De Sutter J, Gillebert TC, Van Bortel L, Verdonck P. Functional analysis of the common carotid artery: relative distension differences over the vessel wall measured in vivo. J. Hypertens 2004; 22:973-981.

Lemogoum D, Van Bortel L, Najem B, Dzudie A, Teutcha C, Madu E, Leeman M, Degaute JP, van de Borne Ph. Arterial stiffness and wave reflections in patients with sickle cell disease. Hypertension 2004; 44:924-929.

Wojciechowska W, Staessen JA, Stolarz K, Nawrot T, Filipovsky J, Ticha M Bianchi G, Brand E, Cwynar M, Grodzicke T, Kuznetsova T, Struijker-Boudier HA, Svobodova V, Thijs L, Van Bortel LM, Kawecka-Jaszcz K on behalf of the European Project on Genes in Hypertension (EPOGH) inverstigators. Association of peripheral and central arterial wave reflections with the CYP11B2-344C allele and sodium excretion. J Hypertension 2004; 22:2311-2319.

Lemogoum D, Van Bortel L, Van den Abeele W, Ciarka A, Degaute JP, van den Borne Ph, Leeman M. Effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation on pulse wave velocity in black and white subjects.
J Hypertension 2004; 22:2349-2353.

Van Bortel LM. What does intima-media thickness tell us ? J Hypertens 2005; 23:37-39.

Lemogoum D, Leeman M, Degaute JP, van de Borne Ph, Van Bortel LM. Reply to letter by Wilkinson et al: Pulse waveform analysis and arterial stiffness : realism can replace evangelism and scepticism. J Hypertens 2005; 23:213-214.

Nawrot T, Staessen JA, Fagard RH, Van Bortel LM, Struijker Boudier HA. Endothelial function and outdoor temperature. Eur J Epidemiol 2005; 20:407-410.

Cwynar M, Staessen JA, Ticha M, Nawrot T, Citterio L, Kuznetsova T, Wojciekowska W, Stolarz K, Filipovsky J, Kawecka-Jaszcz K, Grodzicki T, Struijker-Boudier HA, Thijs L, Van Bortel LM, Bianchi G and on behalf of the European Project On Genes in Hypertension (EPOGH) investigators. Epistatic interaction between alpha- and gamma-adducin influences peripheral and central pulse pressure in White Europeans. J Hypertens 2005; 23:961-9.

Van Bortel LM, Bulpitt CJ, Rici F. Quality of life and antihypertensive effect with nebivolol and losartan. Am J Hypertens 2005; 18:1060-1066.

Verbeke F, Segers P, Heireman S, Vanholder P, Verdonck P, Van Bortel LM. Brachial-to-radial pulse pressure amplification is an important source of error in the assessment of central pulse pressure from advocated SphygmoCor procedure. Hypertension 2005; 46:244-248.

Segers P, Rietzschel E, Heireman S, De Buyzere M, Gillebert T, Verdonck P, Van Bortel L. Carotid tonometry versus synthesized aorta pressure waves for the estimation of central systolic blood pressure and augmentation index. AM J Hypertens 2005; 18:1168-1173.

Petrovic M, De Paepe P, Van Bortel L. Pharmacotherapy of depression in old age. Acta Clin Belg 2005; 60:150-6.

Mehuys E, Remon JP, Korst A, Van Bortel L, Mols R, Augustijns P, Porter C, Vervaet C.
Human bioavailability of propanolol from a matrix-in-cylinder system with a HPMC-Gelucire® core.
J Control Release 2005; 107:523-36.

Zebekakis PE, Nawrot T, Thys L, Balkestein EJ, van der Heijden-spek J, Van Bortel LM, Struijker-Boudier HA, Safar ME, Staessens JA. Obesity is associated with increased arterial stiffness from adolescence until okd age. J Hypertens 2005; 23:1839-1846.

Gibiansky E, Struys M, Gibiansky L, Vanluchene A, Vornov J, Mortier E, Burak E, Van Bortel L. AQUAVAN®injection, a water-soluble prodrug as a bolus injection : a phase I dose escalation comparison with DIPRIVAN® (part I) Pharmacokinetics. Anesthesiology 2005; 103:718-729.

Struys M, Vanluchene A, Gibiansky E, Gibiansky L, Vornov J, Mortier E, Van Bortel L. AQUAVAN®injection, a water-soluble prodrug as a bolus injection : a phase I dose escalation comparison with DIPRIVAN® (Part II) Pharmacodynamics and safety. Anesthesiology 2005; 103:730-43.

Shiburi CP, Staessens JA, Maseko W, Wojciechowska W, Thijs L, Van Bortel LM, Woodiwiss AJ, Norton GR. Reference values for SphygmoCor measurements in South Africans of African ancestry. Am J Hypertens 2006; 19:40-6.

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