Danielle Shahin  Introduction. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, describes the condition in which a baby unexplainedly dies during its first year of life.1,3 SIDS is the leading cause of death in post-neonates (28 days to 1 year), and the third leading cause of infant deaths.1,3 In 1998, SIDS was…

Melanie L. Painter Introduction. Myocardial infarction results from insufficient blood flow to the heart. Endogenous lymphangiogenesis is initiated after myocardial infarction and serves a protective role against the development of heart failure by reducing inflammation and edema.3 Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C (VEGF-C) and VEGF Receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) both increase…

Chris Ortigoza Introduction. Heart disease is the greatest cause of death in the United States.1 Hypertension represents the most important modifiable risk factor implicated in heart disease,2 representing a major risk factor in coronary and peripheral atherosclerosis, cardiac hypertrophy3, heart failure, ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage and chronic end-stage renal disease.3…

Clarence Lim Introduction. Renovascular hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure greater than 130 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure greater than 80 mmHg with renovascular etiologies7. Renovascular hypertension accounts for approximately 3% of cases in unselected hypertensive patients7. Altered metabolism is a key cause in hypertension5,6,8,9. Studies have…

Sebastian Garcia Introduction: Essential hypertension involves an elevated systolic or diastolic blood pressure, usually greater than  mmHg, that is not caused by secondary factors such as underlying disease1,4. Angiotensin II plays a major role in the development of essential hypertension by increasing the fluid volume in the blood due to…

Kenneth Ford  Introduction. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are some of the most exciting new therapies in the world of cancer treatment. These inhibitors of PD-1 and CTLA-4 have become first line therapy for metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and second line drugs for an increasing number of malignancies.1 Immune checkpoint…

Wajahat Dawood Introduction. Atherosclerosis is an accumulation of immune cells due to CCR7-mediated chemotaxis as a result of LDL buildup in the intimal layers of endothelial cells. Atherosclerosis is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases with increased risks of ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and myocardial infarctions.1,2 Researchers found the…