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Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1389-2010
ISSN (Online): 1873-4316

Functional Imaging to Understand Biomechanics: A Critical Tool for the Study of Biology, Pathology and the Development of Pharmacological Solutions

Author(s): R. Aidan Jamison, James A. Armitage, Josie Carberry, Marcus J. Kitchen, Stuart B. Hooper and Andreas Fouras

Volume 13, Issue 11, 2012

Page: [2128 - 2140] Pages: 13

DOI: 10.2174/138920112802502060

Price: $65

Abstract

We present four case studies of the literature discussing the effects of physical forces on biological function. While the field of biomechanics has existed for many decades, it may be considered by some a poor cousin to biochemistry and other traditional fields of medical research. In these case studies, including cardiovascular and respiratory systems, we demonstrate that, in fact, many systems historically believed to be controlled by biochemistry are dominated by biomechanics. We discuss both the previous paradigms that have advanced research in these fields and the changing paradigms that will define the progressions of these fields for decades to come. In the case of biomechanical effects of flowing blood on the endothelium, this has been well understood for decades. In the cases of platelet activation and liquid clearance from the lungs during birth, these discoveries are far more recent and perhaps not as universally accepted. While only a few specific examples are examined here, it is clear that not enough attention is paid to the possible mechanical links to biological function. The continued development of these research areas, with the inclusion of physical effects, will hopefully provide new insight into disease development, progression, diagnosis and effective therapies.

Keywords: Biomechanics, lung mechanics, cell mechanics, function, functional imaging, Development of Pharmacological Solutions, biomechanical effects, platelet activation


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