Telmisartan Plus Exercise to Improve Functioning in PAD: The TELEX Trial

As a co-investigator in the TELEX Trial (Northwestern University, PI: Mary McGrae McDermott, MD), I will measure changes in calf skeletal muscle Type I fiber composition and satellite cell number in response to the study interventions in frozen human muscle biopsies shipped to the University of Kentucky from Northwestern University. We have budgeted for two measures of immunohistochemical analyses of muscle cross-sections from 24 subjects per year for 5 years. Digital microscopic images, as well as quantification of the images, will be provided to investigators at Northwestern quarterly. We will communicate regularly by telephone, email and video conferencing, and I will attend at least one meeting annually at the Northwestern University. This component of the TELEX Trial enables us to delineate biologic pathways by which the interventions may improve functioning in patients with PAD. Identifying biologic mechanisms of these therapies will help identify new therapies, with similar biologic actions, that improve walking performance in people with PAD.