Sleeve gastrectomy reduces blood pressure in obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Sleeve gastrectomy constitutes an effective surgical procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity in humans and rodents with diet-induced obesity. The aim of the present study was to establish the effects of sleeve gastrectomy on weight loss and cardiovascular parameters in genetically obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats. METHODS: Eleven-week-old male obese (fa/fa) (n = 20) Zucker rats were assigned to three alternative procedures (sham operation, sleeve gastrectomy, or pair-fed to the amount of food eaten by sleeve-gastrectomized animals) and compared with lean Zucker (Fa/Fa) rats (n = 9). Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and mean (MBP) blood pressure values as well as heart rate (HR) were recorded in conscious, resting animals by non-invasive tail-cuff plethysmography before and 3 weeks after the surgical interventions. RESULTS: Sleeve-gastrectomized rats experienced a reduction in body weight (P < 0.01), total adiposity amounts (P < 0.001), together with an increased excess weight loss (%EWL) (P < 0.05) compared with sham-operated and pair-fed animals 3 weeks after the surgical interventions. Rats with sleeve gastrectomy exhibited reduced (P < 0.01) blood pressure values (ΔSBP = -11 ± 8 mmHg; ΔDBP = -6 ± 4 mmHg; ΔMBP = -8 ± 6 mmHg) compared with the control group, but no changes were observed in HR (P = 0.560). Sham-operated and pair-fed groups did not alter their cardiovascular variables. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence of the beneficial effects of sleeve gastrectomy on blood pressure values in addition to the weight loss in obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats independently of surgical trauma and food intake reduction.