Evidence in hypertensive rats of hypotensive effect after mandibular extension

Previous studies in anesthetized normotensive rats demonstrated that a single mouth opening for 10 min obtained by an ad hoc dilator (mandibular extension [ME]) produced a blood pressure reduction by about 20 mmHg lasting for about 2 h and that once-repeated ME prolonged this effect. We here describe these effects in hypertensive rats. Mean (intra) arterial blood pressure (MABP) and heart rate (HR) was followed for up to a maximum of 470 min after single or repeated 10 min-lasting ME in two groups of anesthetized, male, 6-9 months old hypertensive rats. In one group, hypertension was induced by dexamethasone (20 μg/kg/day, subcutaneously for 7 days; Dex-HT); the other group was spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Studies were done, in Dex-HT rats, after only surgical procedures (no ME, sham-operated rats), single ME, early repeated (after 10 min) ME (ER-ME) and late repeated (after 160 min) ME (LR-ME) and, in SHR, after only surgical procedures and ER-ME. One-way ANOVA for repeated measures revealed no significant effect on MABP and HR in sham-operated groups. In Dex-HT rats, single ME was followed by a significant MABP decline by 25 mmHg, lasting for 100 min; ER-ME and LR-ME were followed by an even greater significant MABP decline by 40 mmHg, which outlasted the experimental observation period. In SHR, ER-ME gave similar results as in Dex-HT rats. HR significantly declined in all, except sham-operated groups. In conclusions, ME is followed by a prolonged MABP decline also in hypertensive rats. This effect is even more pronounced, in length and magnitude, after repeated ME.