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Alterations in cardiac parasympathetic function in aged rats.

A U Ferrari1, A Daffonchio, S Gerosa

  • 1Cattedra di Semeiotica Medica, Clinica Medica Generale e Terapia Medica, Università di Milano, Italy.

The American Journal of Physiology
|February 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary
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Aging enhances cardiac muscarinic receptor responsiveness, contrary to expectations. This study reveals that the parasympathetic nervous system

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Aging is known to impair cardiac autonomic control.
  • Reduced sympathetic responses are linked to cardiac beta-adrenoceptor dysfunction with age.
  • The impact of aging on cardiac muscarinic receptor function remains largely uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis of cardiac muscarinic receptor dysfunction in aging.
  • To compare parasympathetic cardiac control between young and old rats.
  • To investigate age-related changes in muscarinic receptor responsiveness.

Main Methods:

  • Measurement of bradycardic responses in young (16 wk) and old (103 wk) anesthetized, vagotomized rats.
  • Graded electrical stimulation of the right efferent vagus nerve.

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  • Graded bolus intravenous injections of acetylcholine.

    • Main Results:

    • Older rats exhibited significantly larger bradycardic responses (over 2-fold) compared to young rats.
    • Both electrical vagal stimulation and acetylcholine administration revealed enhanced responses in aged rats.
    • This indicates an age-related enhancement, not impairment, of cardiac muscarinic receptor responsiveness.

    Conclusions:

    • Aging enhances, rather than impairs, cardiac muscarinic receptor responsiveness.
    • Parasympathetic cardiac control is unexpectedly augmented in aged rats.
    • Aging's effects on biological functions are complex and not uniformly depressive.