Adults 55 to 75, any sex, with Microvascular Dysfunction. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov
Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.
Microvascular Reactivity to AcetylcholinePrimary· 1 hour
Skin blood flow is measured with laser Doppler flowmetry (flux units) and normalized to cutaneous vascular conductance by dividing by mean arterial pressure. Log molar increasing concentrations of acetylcholine are perfused and dose response curves are generated. Dose response curves were analyzed to determine the logEC50 (log Molar)
Group
Value
95% CI
Baseline
-4.90
± 0.2
Low Sodium, No Cheese
-4.82
± 0.20
Low Sodium, Cheese
-5.44
± 0.20
High Sodium, No Cheese
-3.21
± 0.55
High Sodium, Cheese
-3.21
± 0.55
Systolic Blood PressureSecondary· 8 days
Blood pressure is measured via brachial auscultation manually or with a critical care monitor. The peak blood pressure during a cardiac cycle when the heart contracts.
Group
Value
95% CI
Baseline
125
± 1
Low Sodium, No Cheese
122
± 2
Low Sodium, Cheese
121
± 3
High Sodium, No Cheese
127
± 3
High Sodium, Cheese
124
± 3
Diastolic Blood PressureSecondary· 8 days
Blood pressure is measured via brachial auscultation manually or with a critical care monitor. The lowest blood pressure during a cardiac cycle when the heart is between beats.
Group
Value
95% CI
Baseline
81
± 1
Low Sodium, No Cheese
75
± 1
Low Sodium, Cheese
74
± 1
High Sodium, No Cheese
78
± 1
High Sodium, Cheese
76
± 1
Flow Mediated DilationSecondary· 8 days
Flow mediated dilation is measured through Doppler ultrasound probe placed at brachial artery.
Group
Value
95% CI
Baseline
3.78
± 0.78
Low Sodium, No Cheese
5.07
± 0.90
Low Sodium, Cheese
4.20
± 0.76
High Sodium, No Cheese
3.45
± 1.04
High Sodium, Cheese
5.90
± 1.34
Sponsor's own description
Increased dairy intake is associated with improved measures of blood vessel health. Dairy cheese, however, is often high in sodium. Dietary sodium can impair blood vessel function. The researchers examine if and how natural cheese may protect against impairments in blood vessel function caused by sodium. For this study, participants complete four 8-day controlled feeding periods in which they eat cheese (6 oz/day) or no cheese during a low-sodium or high-sodium base-diet. The participants complete baseline experiments while on their normal personal diet and then repeat experiments at the end of each controlled feeding period. In some of our experiments, the researchers use a technique called "microdialysis" (MD). With MD, the researchers perfuse some research drugs into the skin on the forearm through tiny tubing that mimics capillaries. These MD drugs mimic or block substances the body naturally makes to control the small blood vessels in the skin. The drugs remain in nickel-sized areas around the tubing and do not go into the rest of the body. The researchers also use a standard technique called "flow mediated dilation" (FMD) that uses blood pressure cuffs and ultrasound to look at the health of larger blood vessels in the body. FMD includes placing a small tablet of nitroglycerin under the tongue during part of the test.
Publications & conference data
3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Lacy Alexander
Last refreshed: 4 May 2025
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT03376555.