Research Scientist, Heart & Lung Research, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Phone: (516) 465-5400
E-mail: asadoughi@nshs.edu
Hypoxemia is the condition of low blood level of oxygen. It is one of the most common manifestations of respiratory illnesses. On the other hand it can cause a wide variety of devastating diseases, such as pulmonary hypertension. It is known that many of patients with chronic lung disease have neuropsychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Recently, there is scientific evidence that depression has underlying inflammatory mechanisms similar to the ones causing chronic lung diseases, involving the same inflammatory biomarkers such as MIF, IL-6 and TNFα.
Dr. Edmund Miller and his group have found that mouse models of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension have neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms of behavioral changes which correlate with depressive symptoms of human subjects. This has been validated with PET imaging and microscopic pathology exams of the mouse brain.
We hypothesize that there is a common pathophysiologic mechanism that have a role in causing depression and hypoxia induced respiratory illnesses including pulmonary hypertension. In collaboration with Dr. Miller’s lab we are looking for common inflammatory biomarkers in our animal model and patients with hypoxemia. We also screen our patients for signs and symptoms of depression and monitor after the effects of therapeutic interventions.
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