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Mustafa al'Absi, Ph.D.
Department of Behavioral Sciences
Department of Family Medicine
Department of Physiology
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primary focus of our research is to determine the impact of
endocrine and hemodynamic responses to psychological stress
on the proneness to diseases (including cardiovascular diseases
and cancer). Our approach has been to examine influences of
emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety, depression), gender, age, and
genetic factors on cardiovascular and hormonal responses to
psychological stress. We have shown that hormonal and cardiovascular
responses are specifically more pronounced in hypertension-prone
persons. Recently, we published findings demonstrating that
pain sensitivity is attenuated in the offspring of hypertensives.
This is a significant finding in light of the observation that
persons with hypertension may be less sensitive to pain, and
may not readily recognize signs of a heart attack. Our current
research progresses along these same lines, with longitudinal
studies that examine gender differences in pain sensitivity,
cardiovascular, and endocrine responses to stress. We will determine
the extent to which stress-related physiological changes predict
disease development in men and women. This research program
has the potential to produce significant advances in the detection
and prevention of risk factors associated with heart disease
and stroke.
Current
Research Programs
Sources
of Funding
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Office:
235 School of Medicine
10 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812-2478 |
Contact:
218. 726. 8332 (office)
218. 726. 7122 (lab)
218. 726. 7559 (fax) |
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