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Alteration in baroreceptor function in rats produces typical pressure changes during sleep.
1Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Sinoaortic denervation (SAD) in rats alters blood pressure during sleep, causing rises during synchronized sleep and falls during desynchronized sleep. This change is due to impaired baroreceptor function, not renin-angiotensin system overactivity.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Studies
Background:
- Sinoaortic denervation (SAD) and high renin hypertension alter blood pressure patterns during sleep.
- Acute SAD can lead to renin-angiotensin system (RAS) overactivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if RAS overactivity is essential for sleep-related blood pressure alterations following SAD.
- To determine the role of baroreceptor function in these sleep-induced pressure changes.
Main Methods:
- Rats underwent sinoaortic denervation (SAD).
- Blood pressure was monitored during synchronized sleep (SS) and desynchronized sleep (DS).
- Some rats received captopril treatment; others were studied at different time points post-SAD.
Main Results:
- SAD rats showed a rise in mean arterial pressure (MAP) during SS and a fall during DS, irrespective of RAS activity.
- Captopril treatment did not prevent these sleep-related MAP alterations.
- Even when RAS activity normalized 10 days post-SAD, the characteristic sleep pressure pattern persisted.
Conclusions:
- Impairment of baroreceptor function, not RAS overactivity, is the primary cause of altered blood pressure regulation during sleep after SAD.
- Baroreceptor dysfunction per se dictates the observed changes in blood pressure patterns during sleep stages.