Ovarian Aging & Cardiovascular Health Research Model

OVA Research Model

Ovarian Health

Antral Follicle Count (AFC) | the number amount of follicles left in both ovaries
Follicles | multicellular pockets that house the oocytes (immature eggs), secrete hormones that influence stages of the menstrual cycle, each follicle releases one egg during ovulation
Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) | a hormone produced by the granulosa cells in ovarian follicles. AMH is produced in small ovarian (primary) follicles that advance from the primordial follicle stage; therefore, blood levels of AMH are used to measure the size of the pool of growing follicles. In this way, AMH can be used as a marker of ovarian reserve
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) | a hormone made in the pituitary gland. In females, it acts on the ovaries to aid in the maturation and growth of the follicles and eggs
Luteinizing Hormone (LH) | a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. In females, an acute rise of LH triggers ovulation and the development of the corpus luteum
Estradiol (E2) | a type of estrogen hormone, E2 is the major female sex hormone. It is produced in many tissues, but especially within the follicles of the ovaries and has a major role in the regulation of the menstrual reproductive cycle in women. Upon reaching menopause, production of estrogens by the ovaries stops and E2 decreases to very low levels

Genetic Aging

Telomere | a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) | mitochondria - structures in cells that convert energy from food into a form that cells can use - have their own DNA. mtDNA is transmitted through the female egg, so that mothers pass down their mitochondrial genetic information to both sons and daughters, but sons cannot pass along their mother’s mtDNA to their children
F2a-isoprostanes (Fsa-IsoP) | markers of lipid peroxidation; are an effective way to quantify reactive oxygen species (ROS) and its biological activity

Cardiovascular Health

Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) | the PAT signal is a measure of the digital pulsatile volume changes between post- and pre-occlusion and is measured with a non-invasive disposable PAT probe
Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI) | a measure of the EndoPAT test, RHI is the post-to-pre occlusion PAT™ signal ratio in the occluded arm, relative to the same ratio in the control arm, corrected for baseline vascular tone of the occluded arm
Augmentation Index (AI) | a measure of arterial stiffness, calculated based on pulse wave analysis of the signal measured by the Endo PAT™ device. Arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor for later CVD events, it reflects the structural nature and basal tonus of the vessel, and is not necessarily correlated to endothelial function
Heart Rate Variability | a measure of changes in the heart beat in time or frequency

LDL (Low-Density Lipoproteins) | a fatty protein that carries cholesterol to cells and tissue. Sometimes called “bad cholesterol”, LDLs can drive the progression of atherosclerosis if they become oxidized within the walls of arteries and can raise your risk for heart disease at high levels
HDL (High-Density Lipoproteins) | in contrast to LDL, HDL is sometimes called “good cholesterol” because it absorbs cholesterol and carries it to the liver, which can work to excrete it from your body. High levels of HDL can lower your risk for heart disease

Stress & Inflammation

Hair Cortisol (HCRT) | Cortisol is crucial for proper body and brain functioning as it regulates numerous basal processes such as fat and glucose metabolism, blood pressure, inflammatory and immune responses. It is often referred to as the stress hormone because it is released in higher doses under stressful situations. Cortisol collected from a small sample of hair will be used as a marker for chronic stress
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) | a protein produced by the liver. The level of CRP rises when there is inflammation throughout the body
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) | an immuno protein active during inflammation
Soluble Intracellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (sICAM-1) | important biomarker for inflammatory processes activated in response to damage to platelets and the endothelium