ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2020
Fasting Therapy Contributes to the Improvement of Endothelial Function and Decline in Vascular Injury-Related Markers in Overweight and Obese Individuals via Activating Autophagy of Endothelial Progenitor Cells.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Association Between Lifestyle Interventions and Trimethylamine N-Oxide: A Systematic-Narrative Hybrid Literature Review.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Sex-Specific Responses to Intermittent Fasting: A Narrative Review Across Physiological, Clinical, and Psychosocial Contexts.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Metabolite profiling of the effect of prenatal stimuli across postnatal treatments in the liver.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2026Article
- Article
- Endothelial Reactive Oxygen Species: Key Players in Cardiovascular Health and Disease.Antioxidants & redox signaling · 2025Review
- Effects of fasting on endothelial function in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: cohort study.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Proliferative potential and angiogenic characteristics of blood outgrowth endothelial cells derived from middle-aged and older adults.Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC · 2024Article
- Intermittent Metabolic Switching and Vascular Cognitive Impairment.Journal of obesity & metabolic syndrome · 2024Review
- Review
- Effects of intermittent fasting on cognitive health and Alzheimer's disease.Nutrition reviews · 2023Article
- Improvement in endothelial function in hypertensive patients after Ramadan fasting: effects of cortisol.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2023Article
- Fasting-Mimicking Diet Reduces Trimethylamine N-Oxide Levels and Improves Serum Biochemical Parameters in Healthy Volunteers.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Religious fasting and the vascular health.Indian heart journalArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHigh body mass index- (BMI-) related vascular injury contributes to the pathogenesis of the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Rigorous calorie restriction is one of the major lifestyle interventions to reduce vascular risk in overweight or obese individuals. However, the effects of fasting therapy (FT) on vascular function and the mechanism are still unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the impacts of FT on endothelial function, arterial stiffness, and circulating arterial damage parameters in overweight and obese individuals and possible mechanism.
methodsOverweight and obese individuals participated in FT intervention (7-day very low calorie diet). Arterial function including brachial arterial flow-mediated dilation (FMD), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), vascular injury-related markers including trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), and leptin and endothelial microparticles (EMPs) were assessed. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) of these participants were isolated and cultured to investigate EPCs function. mRFP-GFP-LC3 confocal microscopy scanning and western blot were carried out to determine autophagy.
resultsAfter FT, body weight and BMI significantly decreased (81.76 ± 12.04 vs. 77.51 ± 12.06 kg,
conclusionsOur present study demonstrated for the first time that FT markedly improves endothelial function and reduces the levels of arterial injury markers through improving EPCs function via activating autophagy. These findings provide a novel insight into FT as a lifestyle intervention strategy to promote the maintenance of vascular homeostasis in overweight or obese individuals. The trial was registered with ChiCTR1900024290.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.