Evaluation of Maternal Reproductive Outcomes and Biochemical Analysis from Wistar Audiogenic Rats (WAR) and Repercussions in Their Offspring.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate maternal reproductive performance, body weight, and frequency of external and internal anomalies of newborns of Wistar Audiogenic Rat (WAR) females as compared with Wistar rats. The adult WAR and Wistar rats were mated within their respective strains. After confirming the pregnancy, the body weights were weekly evaluated.

Impaired central respiratory chemoreflex in an experimental genetic model of epilepsy.

Key Points: It is recognized that seizures commonly cause apnoea and oxygen desaturation, but there is still a lack in the literature about the respiratory impairments observed ictally and in the post-ictal period. Respiratory disorders may involve changes in serotonergic transmission at the level of the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN). In this study, we evaluated breathing activity and the role of serotonergic transmission in the RTN with a rat model of tonic-clonic seizures, the Wistar audiogenic rat (WAR).

Angiotensin II-independent angiotensin-(1-7) formation in rat hippocampus: involvement of thimet oligopeptidase.

The involvement and relevance of the renin-angiotensin system have been established clearly in cardiovascular diseases, and renin-angiotensin system involvement has also been investigated extensively in the central nervous system. Angiotensin II acts classically by binding to the AT1 and AT2 receptors. However, other pathways within the renin-angiotensin system have been described more recently, such as one in which angiotensin-(1-7) (Ang-(1-7)) binds to the receptor Mas.

Changes in autonomic control of the cardiovascular system in the Wistar audiogenic rat (WAR) strain.

We evaluated autonomic cardiovascular modulation and baroreflex control of heart rate (HR) in a particular epileptic rat strain, Wistar audiogenic rats (WARs). We studied spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity as well as reflex changes in HR evoked by phenylephrine/nitroprusside-induced changes in arterial pressure (AP). Atropine and propranolol were used to measure cardiac autonomic tone.