Diagnostic and therapeutic tools for diseases altering vascular function

A method for assessing the status of the glycocalyx, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) determining the width of at least 10 Red Blood Cells in a microvascular blood vessel;
• (b) repeating step (a) for at least 10 microvascular blood vessels;
• and,
• (c) obtaining an estimate of the glycocalyx width from the size distribution of red blood cell column width measurements;
• wherein the glycocalyx width equals half of the difference between the maximal red blood cell width value and the median red blood cell width value;
• thereby assessing the status of the glycocalyx.