Endothelial function during an oral glucose tolerance test in young, healthy volunteers

The heart and blood vessels of the body can become damaged over time leading to disease, though causes of this damage are not fully understood. High levels of blood sugar are associated with damage, and this has been seen in older people with diabetes or high blood pressure. It is not clear if this happens in younger people (i.e. under 50 years) which may indicate that damage occurs early in life. We propose giving young volunteers drinks containing either sugar or artificial sweetener, and measuring blood sugar, and blood vessel “health” in a similar way to taking blood pressure.