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Obesity alters cerebral vascular structure: Correlation with age
Author(s) -
Osmond Jessica Martin,
Dalton Brian,
Mintz James D.,
Stepp David W.
Publication year - 2008
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.22.1_supplement.1151.25
Subject(s) - lumen (anatomy) , medicine , middle cerebral artery , compliance (psychology) , endocrinology , blood pressure , metabolic syndrome , stroke (engine) , obesity , cardiology , chemistry , ischemia , physics , psychology , social psychology , thermodynamics
Obesity and insulin resistance (IR) have been shown to alter cerebral vascular reactivity and to worsen the outcome of stroke. Vessel structure is one of the factors affecting the outcome of stroke. This study hypothesized that adult obese Zucker rats (OZR), a model of obesity, IR and mild hypertension, would demonstrate inward remodeling of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) indicated by smaller lumen and outer diameters compared to lean Zucker rats (LZR). Passive lumen and outer diameters were measured over a range of intralumenal pressures (0–140 mmHg) in MCAs from adult (13–18 weeks) LZR and OZR. OZR had smaller lumen (222 ± 9 vs. 280 ± 6 μm at 140 mmHg) and outer (255 ± 11 vs. 318 ± 7 μm at 140 mmHg) diameters over the entire pressure range compared to LZR with no difference in wall/lumen ratios. Paradoxically, OZR had a rightward shift in the stress‐strain curve and a smaller P‐coefficient (3.79 ± 0.58 vs. 5.86 ± 0.55 in LZR, p<0.05), indicating increased compliance. We then compared MCAs from young (6–7 weeks) OZR and LZR before the development of hypertension and found no differences in vessel structure or compliance despite increased body weight of OZR and IR. Our results provide evidence of structural changes in the cerebral vasculature of adult OZR. These changes appear to correlate with the development of additional metabolic complications and increased blood pressure. ( HL076533 –03)