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Biomedical subjects

M W Brands

Publications and source records attributed to M W Brands.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Acute endothelium-mediated vasodilation is not impaired at the onset of diabetes.

Vascular injury and impaired vascular function are central to the increased mortality associated with diabetes. Hyperglycemia in diabetes has been suggested to play a role in this process, in part by impairing the function of the vascular endothelium. It has been difficult, however, to isolate the direct effect of glucose in both humans and in animal models of diabetes. This was evaluated in the present study in 7 rats that were chronically instrumented with a Transonic flow probe at the iliac bifurcation of the abdominal aorta, a nonoccluding catheter inserted immediately anterior to the flow probe, and a femoral vein catheter. Acute infusions of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside (1 and 10 microg/min IA) increased hindquarter blood flow significantly by approximately 27 and 10 mL/min over baseline, respectively, at the high dose. Streptozotocin (70 mg/kg IV) was administered, but normoglycemia was maintained with continuous intravenous insulin infusion to control for potential streptozotocin side effects. Diabetes was induced 5 to 7 days later by stopping the insulin infusion. Hindlimb blood flow (measured 24 hours per day) decreased during the diabetic period and was accompanied by an increase in mean arterial pressure, suggesting a vasoconstrictor response. However, the responses to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were not altered significantly on either day 2 or day 6 of the diabetic period. This suggests that neither endothelium-mediated vasorelaxation nor responsiveness to nitric oxide is impaired during the initial phase of diabetes and that diabetic hyperglycemia does not have a significant, direct effect to impair endothelium-mediated relaxation in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The mechanism for the change in baseline blood flow and its potential influence on endothelial function, however, are not known.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1997

Inhibition of thromboxane synthesis attenuates insulin hypertension in rats.

Chronic insulin infusion in rats increases mean arterial pressure (MAP) and reduces glomerular filtration rate (GFR), but the mechanisms for these actions are not known. This study tested whether thromboxane synthesis inhibition (TSI) would attenuate the renal and blood pressure responses to sustained hyperinsulinemia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented with arterial and venous catheters, and MAP was measured 24 h/day. After 4 days of baseline measurements, endogenous synthesis of thromboxane was suppressed in 7 rats by infusing the thromboxane synthetase inhibitor, U63557A, intravenously (30 microg/kg/min) for the remainder of the experiment; 7 other rats received vehicle. Baseline MAP was not significantly different between vehicle and TSI rats (96 +/- 1 v 99 +/- 1 mm Hg). After 3 days of U63557A or vehicle, a 5-day control period was started, followed by a 7-day infusion of insulin (1.5 mU/kg/min, intravenously). Glucose (22 mg/kg/min, intravenously) was infused along with insulin to prevent hypoglycemia. In the control period, MAP was not different between vehicle and TSI rats (99 +/- 2 v 100 +/- 1 mm Hg), but MAP increased throughout the 7-day infusion period only in the vehicle rats with an average increase in blood pressure of 7 +/- 2 mm Hg. In the control period, GFR was lower in vehicle rats compared with TSI rats (2.5 +/- 0.1 v 3.1 +/- 0.2 mL/min, P = .06), and the decrease to 81% +/- 4% and 91% +/- 6% of control, respectively, during insulin was significant only in the vehicle rats. All variables returned toward control during a 6-day recovery period. These results suggest that full expression of hypertension and renal vasoconstriction during hyperinsulinemia in rats is dependent on a normal ability to synthesize thromboxane.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Thromboxane is required for full expression of angiotensin hypertension in rats.

Recent studies suggest that thromboxane (TX) mediates a significant component of angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced hypertension. However, there is little information to support the hypothesis that this relationship is important during chronic, physiological increases in ANG II, particularly while controlling for variation in endogenous ANG II levels induced by TX inhibition. This study tested that hypothesis in 27 chronically instrumented rats. After baseline measurements, suppression of endogenous TX was induced and maintained throughout the study in 13 rats by i.v. infusion of the TX synthesis inhibitor (TSI) U63557A: the other 14 rats received vehicle. Baseline mean arterial pressure (MAP) was not different between groups and was unchanged by TSI or vehicle. Continuous inhibition of ANG II production was then initiated in both groups of rats by i.v. infusion of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) benazepril. ACEI reduced blood pressure similarly in vehicle and TSI rats, from 105 +/- 2 to 91 +/- 2 mm Hg and 103 +/- 1 to 89 +/- 1 mm Hg, respectively. ANG II was then infused at 5 ng.kg-1.min-1 i.v. for 7 days in six rats from each group to restore ANG II activity to baseline levels. This dose increased MAP to 103 +/- 2 and 101 +/- 1 mm Hg in vehicle and TSI rats, respectively, values not different from pre-ACEI levels. Seven TSI rats and eight vehicle rats received a higher dose of ANG II (20 ng.kg-1.min-1 i.v.). After 7 days, MAP was higher in vehicle than in TSI rats (143 +/- 5 versus 120 +/- 4 mm Hg). These results suggest that endogenous TX is an important determinant of MAP in ANG II hypertension but may have a diminished role in blood pressure regulation when ANG II is at normal and subnormal levels.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1997

Insulin-induced hypertension in rats depends on an intact renin-angiotensin system.

This study tested the dependence of insulin-induced hypertension in rats on a functional renin-angiotensin system. Rats were instrumented with chronic artery and vein catheters and housed in metabolic cages. After acclimation, 10 rats began receiving the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) benazepril at 1.8 mg.kg-1.d-1 via a continuous intravenous infusion that was maintained throughout the study; 8 control rats received vehicle. Four days after starting ACEI or vehicle, all rats entered a 5-day control period that was followed by a 7-day insulin infusion at 1.5 mU.kg-1.min-1. Glucose was coinfused at 22 mg.kg-1.min-1 to prevent hypoglycemia. Insulin infusion in control rats increased mean arterial pressure (MAP; measured 24 h/d) from an average of 101 +/- 1 to 113 +/- 2 mm Hg on day 1; MAP averaged 110 +/- 1 mm Hg for the 7-day infusion period. Glomerular filtration rate decreased, although not significantly, from 2.7 +/- 0.1 to 2.1 +/- 0.2 mL/min on day 3. Chronic ACEI decreased baseline MAP from an average of 97 +/- 1 to 79 +/- 1 mm Hg and markedly attenuated the increase in MAP during insulin. MAP averaged 81 +/- 1 mm Hg for the 7-day period and increased significantly, to 85 +/- 2 mm Hg, only on day 3. Likewise, the tendency for glomerular filtration rate to decrease was blunted. These results indicate that insulin-induced hypertension in rats depends on angiotensin II and suggest that a reduction in glomerular filtration rate contributes to the shift in pressure natriuresis.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1996

Chronic adrenergic receptor blockade does not prevent hyperinsulinemia-induced hypertension in rats.

Increased adrenergic activity has been suggested to mediate the hypertension associated with hyperinsulinemia. This study tested whether combined alpha1- and beta-adrenergic receptor blockade would prevent insulin-induced hypertension when euglycemia was maintained by continuous intravenous glucose infusion. Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 16) were instrumented with artery and vein catheters and placed in metabolic cages. Propranolol and prazosin (10 mg/kg/day each) were infused continuously intravenously in 9 rats and 7 other rats received vehicle. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured 24 h per day using computerized methods. After a control period, a 7-day intravenous infusion of insulin (1.5 microU/kg/min) was begun and glucose was coadministered intravenously at 23 mg/kg/min to prevent hypoglycemia. The MAP averaged 93 +/- 1 mm Hg in the blockade rats during the control period, which was significantly lower than the 98 +/- 1 mm Hg in the normal rats. During insulin infusion, MAP increased similarly in both groups, with a 10 +/- 2 mm Hg and 11 +/- 1 mm Hg increase in normal and blockade rats, respectively, by day 7. The HR also increased in both groups: from 417 +/- 8 beats/ min to 426 +/- 13 beats/min (P = NS) in normal rats and from 379 +/- 10 beats/min to 419 +/- 10 beats/min (P < .05) in blockade rats. Control sodium excretion averaged 2.5 +/- 0.1 mEq/day in both groups and no significant change in sodium balance was measured in either group. All variables returned toward control after stopping insulin. These results suggest that increased adrenergic activity is not required for chronic hyperinsulinemia to raise blood pressure in rats.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1996

Cardiac output and renal function during insulin hypertension in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Hyperinsulinemia has been reported to cause hypertension in rats; however, the renal and hemodynamic mechanisms are not known. In this study, changes in renal function, cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were measured during chronic insulin infusion in eight rats (approximately 350 g). After a 4-day control period, a 7-day insulin infusion was begun (1.5 mU.kg-1.min-1 iv), together with glucose (22 mg.kg-1.min-1 iv) to prevent hypoglycemia. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), CO, TPR, and heart rate were measured 24 h/day. MAP increased from 92 +/- 1 to 100 +/- 2 mmHg on day 1 and was 108 +/- 4 mmHg by day 7 of insulin. CO tended to decrease during insulin infusion, although not significantly, averaging 94 +/- 4% of the control value of 121 +/- 7 ml/min. Heart rate did not change significantly from the control value of 384 +/- 8 beats/min. TPR increased significantly to 122 +/- 11% of control by day 7. In five rats, glomerular filtration rate and effective renal plasma flow decreased to 73 +/- 4 and 66 +/- 5% of control, respectively, during insulin. Urinary sodium excretion averaged 2.6 +/- 0.1 and 2.7 +/- 0.1 meq/day during the control and insulin-infusion periods, respectively. These results indicate that insulin hypertension in rats is initiated by an increase in TPR rather than by increased CO. Also, the fact that sodium balance was maintained at elevated arterial pressure suggests that the ability of the kidneys to excrete sodium was impaired chronically during insulin infusion.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Poor glycemic control induces hypertension in diabetes mellitus.

We conducted this study to test the hypothesis that hypertension is a primary consequence of poor glycemic control per se very early in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Sprague-Dawley rats (n=15) were instrumented with artery and vein catheters, placed in metabolic cages, and sodium intake was clamped throughout the study. Mean arterial pressure was measured 24 h/d. After a precontrol period, streptozotocin (70 mg/kg IV) was administered, and 15 hours later a continuous intravenous infusion was begun at 4 U/rat per day. The insulin infusion was titrated on an individual rat basis to maintain good glycemic control, and after this 7-day control period, blood glucose, urinary sodium excretion, and mean arterial pressure were not different from precontrol values, averaging 8.8 +/- 0.6 mmol/L, 2.8 +/- 0.2 mmol/d, and 103 +/- 2 mm/Hg, respectively, for control days 5 through 7. Subsequently, a 4-day period of poor glycemic control was initiated by reducing the insulin infusion rate. Blood glucose, urinary sodium excretion, and mean arterial pressure began to increase on day 1; for diabetes days 3 and 4, they averaged 23.4 +/- 1.0 mmol/L, 3.6 +/- 0.1 mmol/d, and 110 +/- 2 mm Hg, respectively. All were significantly elevated. When insulin treatment was restored, all variables returned to control levels during the next 4 days. A second 4-day diabetic period yielded similar results. These results indicate that elevated blood pressure is a primary consequence of poor glycemic control in insulin-dependent diabetes, occurring before renal injury has had time to develop, and therefore, may be a factor contributing to the initiation of end-organ injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Hypertension in obese Zucker rats. Role of angiotensin II and adrenergic activity.

We designed our studies to determine whether blood pressure is elevated in obese Zucker rats compared with lean control rats and to test the importance of the renin-angiotensin and adrenergic nervous systems in long-term blood pressure control in this genetic model of obesity. We monitored mean arterial pressure 24 hours per day using computerized methods in 13- to 14-week-old lean and obese Zucker rats maintained on a fixed, normal sodium intake (3.3 mmol/d). Mean arterial pressure (average of 5 days) was higher in obese (100 +/- 1 mm Hg) than in lean (86 +/- 1) rats. Although control plasma renin activity was lower in obese than in lean rats (3.66 +/- 0.15 versus 5.48 +/- 0.11 ng angiotensin I/mL per hour), blood pressure sensitivity to exogenous angiotensin II was greater in obese than in lean rats. Blockade of endogenous angiotensin II receptors with losartan (10 mg/kg per day) for 7 days also caused a greater decrease in blood pressure in obese (36 +/- 2 mm Hg, n = 6) than in lean (25 +/- 1, n = 5) rats. However, combined alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade with terazosin (10 mg/kg per day) and propranolol (10 mg/kg per day), respectively, for 8 days caused only modest decreases in blood pressure in obese (9 +/- 3 mm Hg, n = 8) and lean (4 +/- 2, n = 6) rats, despite effective alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade. These results suggest that increased arterial pressure in obese Zucker rats depends in part on angiotensin II. However, additional mechanisms may also contribute to increased blood pressure in obese Zucker rats.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1996

Pressure-volume regulation in hypertension.

In all forms of hypertension, including human essential hypertension, pressure natriuresis is abnormal because sodium excretion is the same as in normotension despite increased arterial pressure. Considerable evidence indicates that this resetting of pressure natriuresis plays a key role in causing hypertension, rather than merely occurring as an adaptation to increased blood pressure. Because human essential hypertension is a heterogeneous disease, it is likely that multiple neurohumoral and intrarenal defects contribute to abnormal pressure natriuresis and increased blood pressure. Physiological studies have shown that renal abnormalities that cause increased distal and collecting tubule reabsorption, decreased glomerular filtration coefficient or loss of nephrons also cause decreased slope of pressure natriuresis (salt-sensitive hypertension), whereas increased preglomerular resistance causes a parallel shift of pressure natriuresis (salt-insensitive hypertension). Comparison of the characteristics of pressure natriuresis (such as salt-sensitivity of blood pressure) in hypertensive subjects with those forms of experimental hypertension of known origin can provide insight into the etiology of human hypertension. With long-standing hypertension, pathological changes in the glomeruli and renal arterioles may further shift pressure natriuresis and exacerbate hypertension.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Central role of the kidney and abnormal fluid volume control in hypertension.

In human essential hypertension, and in all forms of experimental hypertension studied thus far, volume regulation and the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and sodium excretion (pressure natriuresis) are abnormal. Considerable evidence indicates that resetting of pressure natriuresis plays a key role in causing hypertension, rather than merely occurring as a consequence of increased BP. In patients with essential hypertension, resetting of pressure natriuresis is characterized either by a parallel shift to higher BPs and salt-insensitive hypertension, or by a decreased slope of pressure natriuresis and salt-sensitive hypertension. This clearly indicates that essential hypertension cannot be ascribed to a single abnormality of kidney function. Multiple physiological studies have shown that salt-sensitive hypertension can be elicited by renal abnormalities that cause either loss of functional kidney mass or an inability to modulate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAA) system appropriately; these abnormalities include loss of functional nephrons, decreased glomerular capillary filtration coefficient, patchy renal ischemia, and increased distal and collecting tubular reabsorption. Renal abnormalities that cause salt-insensitive hypertension are characterized by normal functional kidney mass, and the ability to appropriately modulate the renin-angiotensin system during changes in sodium intake; important causes of salt-insensitive hypertension include widespread increases in preglomerular resistance and increased reabsorption in the proximal tubules and loops of Henle. By comparing the characteristics of pressure natriuresis in essential hypertensive subjects with those found in experimental hypertension of known origin, we can gain considerable insight into the etiology of human hypertension.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1995

Obesity and hypertension: roles of hyperinsulinemia, sympathetic nervous system and intrarenal mechanisms.

Hypertension is a well-recognized complication of obesity. However, the mechanisms for the development of obesity hypertension are not known. One mechanism proposed is that the hyperinsulinemia present in obese hypertensive patients causes hypertension via sodium retaining and/or sympathetic nervous system stimulatory effects. However, numerous studies in dogs have revealed no evidence for such chronic pressor actions of hyperinsulinemia. This is in close agreement with studies in human insulinoma patients that show marked hyperinsulinemia and normal blood pressure. The appropriateness of the dog as an experimental model is strengthened by reports from our laboratory and others that inducing obesity in dogs reproduces many of the characteristics of obesity in humans, including insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, sodium retention, hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension. Recent studies in obese dogs have indicated that significant increases in renal medullary cellularity and intercellular matrix deposition could contribute to the sodium retention and hypertension. Additional evidence suggests that sympathetic nervous system stimulation also may contribute to the elevated blood pressure. However, the mechanisms through which obesity induces these changes and the temporal relationship between these factors and the development of the hypertension remains to be determined.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Cardiovascular actions of insulin: are they important in long-term blood pressure regulation?

1. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the possibility that insulin may have important cardiovascular as well as metabolic actions. Perhaps the best documented cardiovascular effect of insulin is to cause peripheral vasodilation, especially in skeletal muscle. Hyperinsulinaemia also stimulates sympathetic activity and causes antinatriuresis, but these effects may be linked, at least in part, to the metabolic actions of insulin that elicit peripheral vasodilation and a tendency toward hypotension. Normal, fasting levels of insulin appear to have very little influence on peripheral vascular resistance, sympathetic activity or renal sodium excretion. 2. Decreased sensitivity of the peripheral tissues to the metabolic effects of insulin and compensatory hyperinsulinaemia have been postulated to play key roles in the pathophysiology of diseases such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. Although impaired insulin action (insulin resistance) and hyperinsulinaemia often accompany essential hypertension, especially when associated with obesity, there is currently little direct evidence for a cause and effect relationship between insulin resistance, hyperinsulinaemia and increased arterial pressure. Chronic increases in plasma insulin levels in dogs and humans have not been shown to cause hypertension, although hyperinsulinaemia raises blood pressure in rats. 3. Further research is needed to determine whether there are pathophysiological conditions or genetic factors that may predispose humans to a hypertensive effect of hyperinsulinaemia and/or insulin resistance.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1995

Hemodynamic and renal responses to chronic hyperinsulinemia in obese, insulin-resistant dogs.

We previously reported that chronic hyperinsulinemia does not cause hypertension in normal insulin-sensitive dogs. However, resistance to the metabolic and vasodilator effects of insulin may be a prerequisite for hyperinsulinemia to elevate blood pressure. The present study tested this hypothesis by comparing the control of systemic hemodynamics and renal function during chronic hyperinsulinemia in instrumented normal conscious dogs (n = 6) and in dogs made obese and insulin resistant by feeding them a high-fat diet for 6 weeks (n = 6). After 6 weeks of the high-fat diet, body weight increased from 24.0 +/- 1.2 to 40.9 +/- 1.2 kg, arterial pressure rose from 83 +/- 5 to 106 +/- 4 mm Hg, and cardiac output rose from 2.98 +/- 0.29 to 5.27 +/- 0.54 L/min. Insulin sensitivity, assessed by fasting hyperinsulinemia and by the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp technique, was markedly reduced in obese dogs. Insulin infusion (1.0 mU/kg per minute for 7 days) in obese dogs elevated plasma insulin from 42 +/- 12 microU/mL to 95 to 219 microU/mL but failed to increase arterial pressure, which averaged 106 +/- 4 mm Hg during control and 102 +/- 4 mm Hg during 7 days of insulin infusion. Hyperinsulinemia for 7 days in obese dogs elevated heart rate from 116 +/- 8 to 135 +/- 7 beats per minute but caused no significant changes in cardiac output, in contrast to normal dogs (n = 6), in which marked increases in cardiac output (31 +/- 5% after 7 days) and decreases in total peripheral resistance occurred during chronic insulin infusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension: causes, consequences, or merely correlations?

Resistance to the metabolic effects of insulin and compensatory hyperinsulinemia have been postulated to mediate human essential hypertension, especially when associated with obesity. Evidence supporting this hypothesis has come mainly from epidemiological studies showing correlations between insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and blood pressure, and from short-term studies suggesting that insulin has renal and sympathetic effects that could raise blood pressure if the effects were sustained. However, there have been no studies demonstrating a direct causal relationship between chronic hypertension and insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia in humans. The few long-term studies that have been conducted in dogs and humans do not support the hypothesis that hyperinsulinemia causes hypertension or potentiates the hypertensive effects of other pressor agents such as angiotensin II or increased adrenergic tone. To the contrary, multiple studies in dogs and in humans suggest that the vasodilator action of insulin tends to reduce blood pressure. Although resistance to insulin's metabolic effects has been suggested to be essential for hyperinsulinemia to cause hypertension, chronic increases in plasma insulin concentrations do not cause hypertension in dogs or humans even in the presence of insulin resistance. Also, recent studies have also shown that the blood pressure-lowering effects of antihyperglycemic agents, initially believed to lower blood pressure by decreasing insulin resistance, may be unrelated to their effects on insulin sensitivity. Obesity appears to be a key factor in accounting for correlations between insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension, but increased blood pressure in obesity does not appear to be mediated by insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Although insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia may not be directly linked to hypertension, there is increasing evidence that metabolic abnormalities associated with insulin resistance may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (e.g., coronary artery disease) associated with hypertension and Type II diabetes. For this reason, further studies of the long-term effects of insulin resistance on cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic functions are needed.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

High-fructose diet does not raise 24-hour mean arterial pressure in rats.

High intakes of the simple sugars--glucose, sucrose, and fructose--have been reported to raise significantly systolic pressure in rats. It is not clear, however, if under those conditions the acute measurement of blood pressure, especially with the tail-cuff technique, represents accurately the effect of the diet on mean arterial pressure throughout the day. In this study, 15 Sprague-Dawley rats (approximately 325 g) were chronically instrumented with arterial and venous catheters and placed on a diet containing 61% vegetable starch and 5% dextrose; seven rats remained on this diet throughout the study. After 4 days of control measurements, eight rats were switched to a diet that substituted 66% fructose for the vegetable starch and dextrose. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured 20 h/day by computerized methods. MAP during the 4 control days averaged 100 +/- 3 and 105 +/- 3 mm Hg in low-fructose (LF) and high-fructose (HF) diet rats, respectively. Switching to the HF diet caused no change in MAP, and after 11 days MAP averaged 104 +/- 2 and 108 +/- 3 mm Hg in the LF and HF rats, respectively. In addition, the variability of MAP over the 20-h period each day was not altered by the HF diet, and raising sodium intake fourfold caused a similar rise in MAP in both groups. There also were no significant changes in plasma glucose or insulin concentrations. Thus, a change in dietary simple sugar content from 5% dextrose to 66% fructose did not change MAP or alter blood pressure variability or sodium sensitivity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Exaggerated pressor and chronotropic response to chronic hyperinsulinemia in SH versus WKY rats.

Insulin resistance and the sympathetic nervous system have been suggested to be important factors in the blood pressure response to hyperinsulinemia. This study was designed to investigate whether the response to chronic hyperinsulinemia in 14-week-old SH rats (n = 6), which are reported to be insulin resistant and to have a hyperresponsive sympathetic nervous system, would differ from that in WKY rats (n = 5). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored 19 h/day by computer. After a 4-day control period, insulin (1.5 mU/kg/min) and glucose (19.3 [WKY] or 13.5 [SH] mg/kg/min) were infused intravenously for 7 days. Plasma insulin increased from 43 +/- 7 and 68 +/- 7 mU/mL to 75 +/- 4 and 91 +/- 11 mU/mL in WKY and SH rats, respectively, with no decrease in plasma glucose in either group. MAP during control averaged 99 +/- 2 and 130 +/- 4 in WKY and SH rats, respectively, and increased 2 +/- 2 mm Hg above control in WKY rats and 18 +/- 4 mm Hg in SH rats on day 1 of insulin. However, after day 2 the change from control was no longer significantly different between the groups and averaged 11 +/- 2 and 15 +/- 6 mm Hg above control on day 7 in the WKY and SH rats, respectively. The change in heart rate from control was 5 +/- 5 and 21 +/- 9 beats per minute in the WKY and SH rats on day 1 of insulin, and this difference also diminished with time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Resistance to metabolic actions of insulin and its role in hypertension.

Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia have been postulated to be important in raising blood pressure in obese as well as lean hypertensive individuals. However, cause-and-effect relationships among these variables have not been clearly established. The three most widely used methods to assess insulin resistance in vivo (fasting plasma insulin, glucose disposal after a glucose load, or glucose disposal during a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp) may provide different estimates of insulin resistance under various physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Fasting hyperinsulinemia may reflect mainly hepatic insulin resistance, whereas impairment of glucose disposal indicates resistance to the metabolic effects of insulin in skeletal muscle. The importance of these different sites of insulin resistance in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases, however, is still unclear. Although hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance have been speculated to cause hypertension, most of the evidence supporting this hypothesis has come either from correlation studies or from short-term studies of the cardiovascular, renal, and sympathetic effects of insulin. The few long-term studies that have been conducted in dogs and in humans do not support the insulin concept of hypertension. In fact, these studies suggest that the vasodilator actions of insulin tend to reduce, rather than elevate, blood pressure. Correlations between insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension do not appear to be explainable by the concept that insulin resistance occurs secondary to hypertension. Obesity may be a key factor in explaining these relationships; weight gain appears to cause insulin resistance, compensatory hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension through parallel, but not necessarily linked, mechanisms. However, insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia may contribute to increased risk of other cardiovascular diseases associated with hypertension, such as coronary artery disease.

Animals↗