CARDIOVASCULAR INJURY IN THE METABOLIC SYNDROME INDUCED BY CHRONIC COLA DRINKING

TRITTO I; ZUCHI C; SANTUCCI A; SORBO SE; PIETROPAOLO F; MILEI J; GOMEZ-LLAMBI H; OTERO-LOSADA ME; OTTAVIANO G; PAGLIA N.; AMBROSIO G

Napoli

Congreso; 11° CONGRESSO NAZIONALE DELLA SOCIETÀ ITALIANA PER LA PREVENZIONE CARDIOVASCOLARE; 2013

SOCIETÀ ITALIANA PER LA PREVENZIONE CARDIOVASCOLARE

AIM: Consumption of soft drinks has been linked to metabolic syndrome in humans. However, in spite of much experimental data with fructose-enriched diets, little is known on the effects of cola beverage, in man or in animal models. We studied the effects of chronic drinking of sucrose-sweetened beverages on metabolic and echocardiographic parameters. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided in 3 groups (n=8 each) allowed to drink ad libitum for 6 months, either: tap water (Control, C); Coca-cola (K), or light coke (L). Both commercially available drinks had the same amount of phosphoric acid, caramel, caffeine, and sodium; K contained also sucrose (11 g/100 ml), L was sweetened with aspartame. At baseline and at weeks 4, 8, 12 and 24, we measured blood levels of glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and left ventricular (LV) dimensions (M-mode echo). Results: After 6 months, K weighed 686±21 g, vs 617±50 (C) and 631±43 (L) (p