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Excessive salt consumption increases susceptibility to cerebrovascular dysfunction and cognitive impairments in the elderly of both sexes
Author(s) -
Wang Shaoxun,
Jiao Feng,
Guo Ya,
Zhang Huawei,
He Xiaochen,
Mara Rodrigo O,
Alexandra Barbara,
Pabbidi Mallikarjuna,
Roman Richard J,
Fan Fan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.511.7
Subject(s) - autoregulation , medicine , blood pressure , dementia , cerebral autoregulation , cerebral blood flow , endocrinology , hemodynamics , cardiology , physiology , disease
Epidemiological study indicates that the prevalence of dementia is higher in women than men. Excessive salt consumption increases the incidence of cardiovascular disorders, which is one of the major risk factors for dementia. However, whether high‐salt intake that can but not always elevate blood pressure contributes to the development of dementia is still not well understood. Moreover, if there is a correlation between excessive salt consumption, cerebral vascular dysfunction, and dementia, especially if there is a relationship between these factors and sex and age is unclear. In the present study, we examined the myogenic response of middle cerebral artery, autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF), functional hyperemia, and cognitive function in young (3‐month) and old (18‐month) SD rats in both males and females. Blood pressure was not altered in all groups of rats fed 8% high salt (HS) diet. Yong and old female rats all displayed more spontaneous tone, less pressure‐induced myogenic response compared to age‐matched males. HS fed rats developed the impaired myogenic response to pressure and to Ach‐induced vasodilation in all age and sex. CBF measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) rose by 27.7 ± 4.8% (male, young), 57.4 ± 4.4% (female, young), 35.9 ± 3.3% (male, old), and 60.3 ± 12.3% (female, old), respectively, when MAP increases from 100–180 mmHg indicating that female rats have impaired CBF autoregulation in both ages. HS intake diminished and aggravated CBF autoregulation in male and female rats, respectively, in all age. Elderly female rats exhibited impaired functional hyperemia measured by LDF during whisker stimulation compared to age‐matched males. Excessive salt intake also exacerbated the declined functional hyperemia and resulted in cognitive impairment examined by eight‐arm water maze in old male and female rats. These results demonstrated that excessive salt consumption increases susceptibility to the development of cerebrovascular dysfunction and cognitive impairments in both male and female elderly independent of blood pressure. This study provides novel insight to understand the effects of metabolic stressors on sex and age in the development of cerebral vascular function and dementia. Support or Funding Information This study was supported by grants AG050049, P20GM104357, DK104184, and HL138685, from the National Institutes of Health; 16GRNT31200036 from the American Heart Association. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .