Background: MD/PhD, leading researcher at Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Research interests: psychophysiology, biological psychiatry and psychology, psychosomatic, neuroscience. health and aging resiliency, preventive medicine, mobile health, biometrics, epigenetic, and emotional AI. Professional interests: 1) health as an integrative somatic and mental wellbeing concept
Fibromyalgia is a long-term pain disorder that has been related to autonomic dysfunctions and red... more Fibromyalgia is a long-term pain disorder that has been related to autonomic dysfunctions and reduced cardiovascular reactivity. We aimed to assess the dynamic short-term cardiovascular responses to postural changes in fibromyalgia. Thirty-eight women with fibromyalgia and thirty-six healthy women underwent the "Chronic Pain Autonomic Stress Test". Electrocardiogram, blood pressure and impedance cardiography were continuously recorded during active standing and lying down. Second-by-second values were derived over the first 30 s of each posture. Lower reactivity during the beginning of each position was observed in fibromyalgia sufferers compared to healthy women, with smaller responses seen during stand up in heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, and pre-ejection period, and smaller changes during lying down in heart rate, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. The magnitude of the autonomic adjustments to postural changes was inversely associated with the severity of clinical pain. These findings indicate an early impaired autonomic cardiovascular response to orthostatic and clinostatic challenges in fibromyalgia, suggesting less autonomic flexibility and adaptability to situational demands and challenges. Short-term second-by-second cardiovascular measures may be useful in the clinical assessment of fibromyalgia.
Objective measures of pain severity remain ill defined, although its accurate measurement is crit... more Objective measures of pain severity remain ill defined, although its accurate measurement is critical. Reciprocal baroreflex mechanisms of blood pressure (BP) control were found to impact differently on pain regulation, and thus their asymmetry was hypothesized to also connect to chronic pain duration and severity.
Hypothesis Previous studies provide evidence that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma... more Hypothesis Previous studies provide evidence that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) should not be considered as interchangeable alternatives in the diagnosis of the same type 2 diabetes, but as indicators of its different pathogenetic subtypes. This study was conducted to determine whether a particularly high amount of glucose in either HbA1c form or in fasting plasma would be found in diabetic patients genetically predisposed for either intensive cognitive or intensive muscle metabolic activity, respectively. Methods HbA1c and FPG levels, polymorphisms of genes indicating the predisposition to different cognitive activity (the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2/ANKK1)), muscle activity (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1A(PPARGC1A))), and vascular regulation of general metabolic activity (the angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE)) were assessed in diabetic patients and nondiabetic controls. Results DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism...
Objective markers of chronic pain severity are needed when examining and treating patients with c... more Objective markers of chronic pain severity are needed when examining and treating patients with chronic pain whose suffering may be overstated or underestimated. This study tested a hypothesis that the strength of cardiovascular (CV) reactivity in response to a social evaluative threat and orthostatic challenge is a reliable index of severity of pain-related complaints. Measurement of CV reactivity and response styles in 34 men and 16 women with chronic pain from different bodily injuries, were retrieved from a larger database of patients. Measurement of CV reactivity in response to a postural challenge was repeated twice (sessions 1 and 2) on the same day of a medical examination which includes a psychosocial evaluation . A decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from session 1 to session 2 was found in subjects with low pain severity scores, but not in those with high pain severity scores. High scores for pain catastrophizing/ magnification and pain-related emotional distress we...
A major challenge presently is not only to identify the genetic polymorphisms increasing risk to ... more A major challenge presently is not only to identify the genetic polymorphisms increasing risk to diseases, but to also find out factors and mechanisms, which can counteract a risk genotype by developing a resilient phenotype. The objective of this study was to examine acquired and innate vagal mechanisms that protect against physical challenges and haemorrhages in 19 athletes and 61 non-athletes. These include examining change in heart rate variability (HF-HRV; an indicator of vagus activity) in response to orthostatic challenge, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in genes that encode several coagulation factors, PAI-1, and MTHFR. Individual differences in PLT and MPV were significant predictors, with opposite effects, of the profiles of the HF-HRV changes in response to orthostasis. Regular physical training of athletes indirectly (through MPV) modifies the genetic predisposing effects of some haemostatic factors (PAI-1 and MTHFR) ...
The present review examines the origin and physiological background of the asymmetry of some of o... more The present review examines the origin and physiological background of the asymmetry of some of oscillating processes in the cardiovascular system including the asymmetry of fluctuations of heart rhythm, level of blood pressure, and baroreflex sensitivity. The possible role of this asymmetry and its arousal-related transposition in mechanisms supporting health resilience against adversity and stressors is discussed in terms of integrative physiology and the chaos theory and contrasted to mechanisms of adaptation to adversity and stressors. It also discusses the possibility of neuroplastic restructuring of processes maintaining asymmetry and balance between the body’s resilience and its adaptive properties for applications of such restructuring in sports training and epigenetic control for maturating, aging, or involution process of systems and organs of the body.
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2015
From the standpoint of the social and behavioral sciences, hypertension has attracted a great dea... more From the standpoint of the social and behavioral sciences, hypertension has attracted a great deal of attention. It forms the backbone of the growing fields of health psychology and behavioral medicine. The evidence is supportive of the role and significance of psychosocial factors in the etiology, course, and treatment of hypertension. This knowledge has the potential for deepening our understanding of the mechanisms involved in hypertension, improving the effectiveness of both drug and non-drug treatment, and facilitating efforts for prevention. There is great need for further systematic research and especially for theoretical and empirical integration of psychosocial and biological knowledge of the disorder.
Fibromyalgia is a long-term pain disorder that has been related to autonomic dysfunctions and red... more Fibromyalgia is a long-term pain disorder that has been related to autonomic dysfunctions and reduced cardiovascular reactivity. We aimed to assess the dynamic short-term cardiovascular responses to postural changes in fibromyalgia. Thirty-eight women with fibromyalgia and thirty-six healthy women underwent the "Chronic Pain Autonomic Stress Test". Electrocardiogram, blood pressure and impedance cardiography were continuously recorded during active standing and lying down. Second-by-second values were derived over the first 30 s of each posture. Lower reactivity during the beginning of each position was observed in fibromyalgia sufferers compared to healthy women, with smaller responses seen during stand up in heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, and pre-ejection period, and smaller changes during lying down in heart rate, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. The magnitude of the autonomic adjustments to postural changes was inversely associated with the severity of clinical pain. These findings indicate an early impaired autonomic cardiovascular response to orthostatic and clinostatic challenges in fibromyalgia, suggesting less autonomic flexibility and adaptability to situational demands and challenges. Short-term second-by-second cardiovascular measures may be useful in the clinical assessment of fibromyalgia.
Objective measures of pain severity remain ill defined, although its accurate measurement is crit... more Objective measures of pain severity remain ill defined, although its accurate measurement is critical. Reciprocal baroreflex mechanisms of blood pressure (BP) control were found to impact differently on pain regulation, and thus their asymmetry was hypothesized to also connect to chronic pain duration and severity.
Hypothesis Previous studies provide evidence that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma... more Hypothesis Previous studies provide evidence that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) should not be considered as interchangeable alternatives in the diagnosis of the same type 2 diabetes, but as indicators of its different pathogenetic subtypes. This study was conducted to determine whether a particularly high amount of glucose in either HbA1c form or in fasting plasma would be found in diabetic patients genetically predisposed for either intensive cognitive or intensive muscle metabolic activity, respectively. Methods HbA1c and FPG levels, polymorphisms of genes indicating the predisposition to different cognitive activity (the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2/ANKK1)), muscle activity (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1A(PPARGC1A))), and vascular regulation of general metabolic activity (the angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE)) were assessed in diabetic patients and nondiabetic controls. Results DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism...
Objective markers of chronic pain severity are needed when examining and treating patients with c... more Objective markers of chronic pain severity are needed when examining and treating patients with chronic pain whose suffering may be overstated or underestimated. This study tested a hypothesis that the strength of cardiovascular (CV) reactivity in response to a social evaluative threat and orthostatic challenge is a reliable index of severity of pain-related complaints. Measurement of CV reactivity and response styles in 34 men and 16 women with chronic pain from different bodily injuries, were retrieved from a larger database of patients. Measurement of CV reactivity in response to a postural challenge was repeated twice (sessions 1 and 2) on the same day of a medical examination which includes a psychosocial evaluation . A decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from session 1 to session 2 was found in subjects with low pain severity scores, but not in those with high pain severity scores. High scores for pain catastrophizing/ magnification and pain-related emotional distress we...
A major challenge presently is not only to identify the genetic polymorphisms increasing risk to ... more A major challenge presently is not only to identify the genetic polymorphisms increasing risk to diseases, but to also find out factors and mechanisms, which can counteract a risk genotype by developing a resilient phenotype. The objective of this study was to examine acquired and innate vagal mechanisms that protect against physical challenges and haemorrhages in 19 athletes and 61 non-athletes. These include examining change in heart rate variability (HF-HRV; an indicator of vagus activity) in response to orthostatic challenge, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in genes that encode several coagulation factors, PAI-1, and MTHFR. Individual differences in PLT and MPV were significant predictors, with opposite effects, of the profiles of the HF-HRV changes in response to orthostasis. Regular physical training of athletes indirectly (through MPV) modifies the genetic predisposing effects of some haemostatic factors (PAI-1 and MTHFR) ...
The present review examines the origin and physiological background of the asymmetry of some of o... more The present review examines the origin and physiological background of the asymmetry of some of oscillating processes in the cardiovascular system including the asymmetry of fluctuations of heart rhythm, level of blood pressure, and baroreflex sensitivity. The possible role of this asymmetry and its arousal-related transposition in mechanisms supporting health resilience against adversity and stressors is discussed in terms of integrative physiology and the chaos theory and contrasted to mechanisms of adaptation to adversity and stressors. It also discusses the possibility of neuroplastic restructuring of processes maintaining asymmetry and balance between the body’s resilience and its adaptive properties for applications of such restructuring in sports training and epigenetic control for maturating, aging, or involution process of systems and organs of the body.
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2015
From the standpoint of the social and behavioral sciences, hypertension has attracted a great dea... more From the standpoint of the social and behavioral sciences, hypertension has attracted a great deal of attention. It forms the backbone of the growing fields of health psychology and behavioral medicine. The evidence is supportive of the role and significance of psychosocial factors in the etiology, course, and treatment of hypertension. This knowledge has the potential for deepening our understanding of the mechanisms involved in hypertension, improving the effectiveness of both drug and non-drug treatment, and facilitating efforts for prevention. There is great need for further systematic research and especially for theoretical and empirical integration of psychosocial and biological knowledge of the disorder.
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Papers by Dmitry M Davydov