Effect of p-tyrosol on hemorheological parameters and cerebral capillary network in young spontaneously hypertensive rats.

BACKGROUND: Many pathological mechanisms are involved in the development of arterial hypertension; disturbance of the rheological properties of blood and microvascular rarefaction are among those mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: The effect of p-tyrosol (Tyr) on hemorheological parameters and microvascularization in the cerebral cortex of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) at the stage of blood pressure rising (5-11 weeks) was studied. METHODS: Blood viscosity (BV), plasma viscosity (PV), hematocrit, erythrocyte aggregation and deformability, the oxygen transport capacity index (OTCI), and the capillary network in the cerebral cortex after the course of treatment of Tyr (50 mg/kg daily i.g. for 6 weeks) were studied. Control normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and control SHRs received an equivalent amount of 1% starch mucilage. RESULTS: In comparison with WKY rats, disturbances of rheological blood parameters and a decrease in OTCI were revealed in control SHRs at the 11 weeks of life. By the end of the experiment, brain microvascular rarefaction was observed in the control SHRs (the average density of the capillary bed was reduced due to a decrease in the number of capillaries with a diameter of 3-7 µm). In SHRs rats treated with Tyr, BV and PV, the indices of erythrocyte aggregation were lower, and OTCI was higher in comparison with control SHRs. The density of the capillary network and the number of capillaries of 3-7 µm in the cerebral cortex of SHRs rats receiving Tyr were significantly higher than the corresponding values in control SHRs. CONCLUSION: When Tyr is administered to young SHRs during the development of hypertension, it limits the development of hyperviscosity syndrome, improves the oxygen transport capacity and eliminates microvascular rarefaction in the cerebral cortex.

Effects of pentoxifylline on hemodynamic, hemorheological, and microcirculatory parameters in young SHRs during arterial hypertension development.

The most common form of hypertension in young adults is isolated diastolic hypertension. Diastolic arterial pressure is determined by the total peripheral resistance and depends on both vascular hindrance and blood viscosity. The aim of our work was to study the efficiency of pentoxifylline (PTX) in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) during the development of arterial hypertension. The effects of a treatment course with PTX (100 mg/kg/day p.o. for 6 weeks, from 5 to 11 weeks old) on the mean, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure (BP); stroke volume; cardiac output; total peripheral resistance (TPR); whole blood viscosity (BV); plasma viscosity; hematocrit; RBC aggregation and deformability; local cerebral blood flow (lCBF); and microvascularization of the visual cortex were studied in SHRs in comparison with control SHRs and Wistar Kyoto rats. PTX-treated SHRs had significantly lower systolic, diastolic, and mean BP (by 24%, 26%, and 15%, respectively) and BV (by 5-9%) and a higher erythrocyte deformability index (by 1.5-2%), lCBF (by 42%), average diameter of capillaries (by 11%), density of the capillary network (by 23%), and percentage of capillaries with a diameter of 3-7 µm in comparison with control SHRs. In conclusion, PTX exerted positive effects on the hemodynamic, hemorheological, and microcirculatory parameters in SHRs during the development of arterial hypertension.

Pentoxifylline treatment enhances antihypertensive activity of captopril through hemorheological improvement in spontaneously hypertensive rats during development of arterial hypertension.

The rheological properties of blood play a significant role in the onset and progression of arterial hypertension. The aim of our work was to evaluate the effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril (20 mg/kg/d), pentoxifylline (PTX; 100 mg/kg/d), and the combination of captopril + PTX (20 + 100 mg/kg/d) on the hemodynamic and hemorheological parameters in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) during the development of arterial hypertension. In the group of animals that received captopril, the mean arterial pressure (MAP) was significantly lower by 30% due to a decrease in cardiac output of 23% and in total peripheral resistance (TPR) of 26% compared with the control group, whereas blood viscosity did not change significantly. PTX-treated SHRs had significantly lower MAP and TPR (by 19% and 31%, respectively) and blood viscosity (by 4%-6%) and a higher erythrocyte deformability index (by 1.5%-2%) than the control group. In the group of animals that received captopril + PTX, MAP and TPR were significantly lower, by 41% and 46%, than those in the control group, and by 16% and 27% than those in the captopril group. The combination of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril and the hemorheological agent PTX, affecting various systems that are involved in blood pressure regulation, exhibits synergism and prevents an increase in arterial blood pressure during the development of arterial hypertension in SHRs (ie, from 5 to 11 weeks of life).