L-Arginine and Taurisolo Effects on Brain Hypoperfusion-Reperfusion Damage in Hypertensive Rats.

Acute and chronic hypertension causes cerebral vasculopathy, increasing the risk of ischemia and stroke. Our study aimed to compare the effects of arterial pressure reduction on the pial microvascular responses induced by hypoperfusion and reperfusion in spontaneously hypertensive Wistar rats, desamethasone-induced hypertensive Wistar rats and age-matched normotensive Wistar rats fed for 3 months with a normal diet or normal diet supplemented with L-arginine or Taurisolo or L-arginine plus Taurisolo. At the end of treatments, the rats were submitted to bilateral occlusion of common carotid arteries for 30 min and reperfusion.

Effects of physical exercise associated with a diet enriched with natural antioxidants on cerebral hypoperfusion and reperfusion injury in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension. The reduction in the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) causes endothelial dysfunction, altering the functions of cerebral blood vessels. Physical exercise and intake of antioxidants improve the redox state, increasing the vascular NO production and/or the decrease in NO scavenging by reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Effects of a catechins-enriched diet associated with moderate physical exercise in the prevention of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Hypertension represents the main risk factor for the onset of cardiovascular diseases. Pharmacological treatments to control hypertension have been associated with new treatments involving physical activity and/or the intake of natural components (nutraceuticals). We here report the effects produced by a combination of a natural component (catechins) and a moderate exercise program on the development of hypertension in spontaneous hypertensive rats compared with those of each individual treatment.

Geometric Features of the Pial Arteriolar Networks in Spontaneous Hypertensive Rats: A Crucial Aspect Underlying the Blood Flow Regulation.

Background: Several studies indicate that hypertension causes major changes in the structure of the vessel wall by affecting the regulation of blood supply to the tissues. Recently, it has been observed that capillary blood flow is also considerably influenced by the structural arrangement of the microvascular networks that undergo rarefaction (reduction of the perfused vessel number). Therefore, this study aimed to assess the geometric arrangements of the pial arteriolar networks and the arteriolar rhythmic diameter changes in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).

The exploration of a new environment leads to the modulation of gene expression for prolonged times in the rat.

In the present study we performed a transcriptional analysis in order to evaluate changes in gene expression induced by exploration in prolonged times. The analysis was carried out 3, 10 and 20 days after exploration. We analyzed the modulation of the expression levels of Pfn2, Casp3, Pdrg1, Pea15, Ywhaz genes which previously were found not modulated 2 days after exploration.