ANIMAL MODEL OF SUBOPTIMAL NUTRITION: RELATION BETWEEN POSTERIOR HYPOTHALAMUS NORADRENERGIC ACTIVITY AND BLOOD PRESSURE.

C. COMPAGNUCCI; G. COMPAGNUCCI; M. ROIG; SANDRA I HOPE; ANDREA S. DI NUNZIO; LILIANA G. BIANCIOTTI; JUAN C. ELVERDIN; MARCELO S. VATTA; PATRICIA BOYER

Buenos Aires

Congreso; ADVANCES IN THE CARE AND USE OF LABORATORY ANIMALS; 2004

Asociacion Argentina de Ciencia y Tecnología de Animales de Laboratorio

The relation between posterior hypothalamus (PH) noradrenergic activity and blood pressure (BP) in a nutritional dwarfing (ND) animal model was evaluated. Wistar weaning male rats were divided in Control (C) and ND groups. C was fed ad libitum. ND received 80% of the diet consumed by C during 4 weeks. ND reached an adequate anthropometric category; BP in ND vs C was 27% less (p<0.001). In PH, NE uptake decreased (19.3% p<0.02) while NE release (47%, p<0.01) and TH activity (52.4%, p<0.05) increased in ND vs C. No significant differences in noradrenergic activity between right and left PH were evident. This study suggests that do not exist a direct relation between noradrenergic activity of posterior hypothalamus and the decrease in blood pressure observed in this ND animal model.