Age-related changes in regional blood flow in the rat

1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (3) ◽  
pp. H485-H491 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Tuma ◽  
G. L. Irion ◽  
U. S. Vasthare ◽  
L. A. Heinel

The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the changes in regional blood flow and central hemodynamic measures that occur in the rat as a result of the aging process. The isotope-labeled microsphere technique was used to measure cardiac output and regional blood flows in conscious and anesthetized adult (12 mo) and senescent (24 mo) Fischer 344 virgin female rats. No significant changes were observed in central hemodynamic measurements or regional blood flows in conscious rats with the exception of a 25% reduction in splenic blood flow. Pentobarbital anesthesia significantly reduced cardiac index and heart rate but elevated total peripheral resistance and mean arterial blood pressure. There was a decrease in blood flow to skeletal muscle, spleen, duodenum, stomach, and brain tissue samples and increased hepatic arterial blood flow in both age groups. The use of anesthesia caused a greater reduction in the cardiac index and brain blood flow in the senescent anesthetized rats than in the adult rats. Heart and kidney blood flows were decreased by anesthesia in the senescent rats but not in the adult rats. Skeletal muscle blood flow, however, was significantly greater in the senescent anesthetized rats than in the younger anesthetized animals. Although body weight and organ weights of the liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, heart, and brain were significantly greater for the senescent rats, no differences could be demonstrated in tibial length or lean body mass.

1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (3) ◽  
pp. H919-H928 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Bradley ◽  
F. L. Hanley ◽  
B. W. Duncan ◽  
R. W. Jennings ◽  
J. A. Jester ◽  
...  

Successful fetal cardiac bypass might allow prenatal correction of some congenital heart defects. However, previous studies have shown that fetal cardiac bypass may result in impaired fetal gas exchange after bypass. To investigate the etiology of this impairment, we determined whether fetal cardiac bypass causes a redistribution of fetal regional blood flows and, if so, whether a vasodilator (sodium nitroprusside) can prevent this redistribution. We also determined the effects of fetal cardiac bypass with and without nitroprusside on fetal arterial blood gases and hemodynamics. Eighteen fetal sheep were studied in utero under general anesthesia. Seven fetuses underwent bypass without nitroprusside, six underwent bypass with nitroprusside, and five were no-bypass controls. Blood flows were determined using radionuclide-labeled microspheres. After bypass without nitroprusside, placental blood flow decreased by 25–60%, whereas cardiac output increased by 15–25%. Flow to all other fetal organs increased or remained unchanged. Decreased placental blood flow after bypass was accompanied by a fall in PO2 and a rise in PCO2. Nitroprusside improved placental blood flow, cardiac output, and arterial blood gases after bypass. Thus fetal cardiac bypass causes a redistribution of regional blood flow away from the placenta and toward the other fetal organs. Nitroprusside partially prevents this redistribution. Methods of improving placental blood flow in the postbypass period may prove critical to the success of fetal cardiac bypass.


1986 ◽  
Vol 250 (3) ◽  
pp. R499-R504 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. M. Faraci ◽  
M. R. Fedde

To investigate mechanisms that may allow birds to tolerate extreme high altitude (hypocapnic hypoxia), we examined the effects of severe hypocapnia and moderate hypercapnia on regional blood flow in bar-headed geese (Anser indicus), a species that flies at altitudes up to 9,000 m. Cerebral, coronary, and pectoral muscle blood flows were measured using radioactive microspheres, while arterial CO2 tension (PaCO2) was varied from 7 to 62 Torr in awake normoxic birds. Arterial blood pressure was not affected by hypocapnia but increased slightly during hypercapnia. Heart rate did not change during alterations in PaCO2. Severe hypocapnia did not significantly alter cerebral, coronary, or pectoral muscle blood flow. Hypercapnia markedly increased cerebral and coronary blood flow, but pectoral muscle blood flow was unaffected. The lack of a blood flow reduction during severe hypocapnia may represent an important adaptation in these birds, enabling them to increase O2 delivery to the heart and brain at extreme altitude despite the presence of a very low PaCO2.


1997 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Gillespie ◽  
AL Merkel ◽  
AA Martin

Two studies were conducted to investigate the haemodynamic effects of IGF-I and its analogue LR3IGF-I in normal anaesthetised rats. Infusion of IGF-I intravenously, at a dose of 125 micrograms/kg/h, for 20 min in the first study resulted in renal blood flow being significantly elevated by 35% above baseline. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) at this IGF-I dose fell by 18% of baseline, with LR3IGF-I also causing a significant decline in MABP (by 15%) at the dose of 125 micrograms/kg/h. In the second study the intravenous administration of IGF-I or LR3IGF-I, at a dose of 125 micrograms/kg/h, over a period of 60 min, resulted in MABP being significantly lowered by 25% of baseline values. Regional blood flow rates were determined using radioactive microspheres, 15 microns in diameter, injected systemically at the end of the peptide infusion period. The gastrocnemius, a representative skeletal muscle, was the only vascular region to show a significant increase in blood flow after IGF-I (by 58%) or LR3IGF-1 (by 308%) infusion. Vascular resistance in the brain was significantly reduced after infusion of IGF-I (by 60%) or LR3IGF-I (by 48%) as compared with vehicle. Skeletal muscle vascular resistance was also reduced by IGF-I (by 41%) and more particularly by LR3IGF-I (by 77%) in comparison to vehicle. These alterations to vascular tone produced by IGF infusion may be related to the central nervous system and systemic cardiovascular side-effects that have been reported during IGF-I administration in humans.


1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (1) ◽  
pp. H164-H173 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. C. Seyde ◽  
L. McGowan ◽  
N. Lund ◽  
B. Duling ◽  
D. E. Longnecker

Twenty-nine male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups based on anesthetic exposure, i.e., awake animals and those receiving anesthesia produced by chloralose-urethan, pentobarbital, or by midcollicular brain stem transsection. Before and after hemorrhage (30% of the estimated blood volume), cardiac output (CO) and regional blood flows were measured by the microsphere method. Arterial blood gases and lactate (L) and pyruvate (P) were also determined. CO and regional blood flows were greatest and the L/P ratio was least in awake animals both before and after hemorrhage. In normovolemic rats, the frequency of altered values (as compared with those in awake animals) was similar for all anesthetic techniques, whereas the CO and regional blood flow responses to hemorrhage were altered less frequently in decerebrated animals. Decerebration may be the preferable procedure if the intent is to produce responses in anesthetized animals similar to those in awake rats. If the intent is to study hemodynamics in a specific organ, the selection of an anesthetic technique should be guided by the individual anesthetic effects on that particular tissue.


1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (2) ◽  
pp. E264-E269 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Carter ◽  
B. S. Richardson ◽  
J. Homan ◽  
M. Towstoless ◽  
J. R. Challis

To determine whether adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) at plasma concentrations measured during mild hypoxemia and at term affects adrenal blood flow, we measured regional blood flows in five unanesthetized normoxemic fetuses (125–130 days gestation) during a 24-h intravenous infusion of ACTH-(1–24) in isotonic saline solution. Another five fetuses received an infusion of vehicle. Blood flows were determined before the infusion, at 2 and 24 h from its onset, and 24 h afterward using radionuclide-labeled microspheres. Blood flow to the adrenal medulla was fivefold greater than that to the adrenal cortex. Adrenal blood flow rose 99% at 24 h of the ACTH infusion. There was a large increase in adrenal cortical blood flow of 272% at this time but medullary blood flow did not change significantly during ACTH infusion. The rise in cortical blood flow was attributable to decreased vascular resistance. No significant alterations occurred in fetal arterial blood pressure and heart rate, or in blood flow to other lower body organs of the fetus or to the placental cotyledons. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the increase in adrenal blood flow observed during fetal hypoxia is associated with changes in plasma ACTH concentration. They are also indicative of selective regulation of cortical and medullary blood flows in the sheep fetus at this stage of gestation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (1) ◽  
pp. H7-H13 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. O. Iversen ◽  
G. Nicolaysen

The regional blood flow distributions within single skeletal muscles are markedly uneven both at rest and during exercise hyperemia. Fractals adequately describe this perfusion heterogeneity in the resting lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle as well as in the myocardium. Recently, we provided evidence that the fractal dimension for the blood flow distributions in this resting muscle was strongly correlated with that of the myocardium in the same rabbit. Prompted by this hitherto unknown observation, we have now examined 1) whether fractals also describe perfusion distributions within muscles with a varying metabolic activity, and 2) whether the fractal dimensions for blood flow distributions to these muscles were correlated. We used pentobarbital-anesthetized rabbits and cats. The regional distributions of blood flow within various skeletal muscles were estimated by microsphere trapping. The data unequivocally showed that the perfusion distributions could be described with fractals both in resting and in exercising muscle in both species, the corresponding fractal dimensions ranging from 1.36 to 1.41. The fractal dimensions were markedly correlated (r2 ranged from 0.82 to 0.88) when both various resting and resting plus exercising muscles were compared in the same animal. This surprising finding of high correlations for the fractal dimensions among various muscles within one animal provides a novel characteristic of blood flow heterogeneity.


1981 ◽  
Vol 240 (3) ◽  
pp. H361-H367 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Liard

An intravenous infusion of isotonic sodium chloride, 196 ml/kg per day, was administered for several days to eight dogs with their renal mass reduced. Mean arterial pressure, cardiac output (electromagnetic flowmeter), and regional blood flows (radioactive microspheres) were measured sequentially and the results compared with those obtained in six control dogs. The salt-loaded animals exhibited on the 1st day of the infusion a 25% increase of arterial pressure and cardiac output. Blood flows to the kidney, the splanchnic area, the skin, and the bone were not significantly changed, whereas skeletal muscle blood flow almost doubled. After several days, cardiac output returned toward control values but pressure remained elevated. Skeletal muscle blood flow, as most other regional flows, did not differ significantly from control values at that time. In four dogs studied 6 h after starting a faster saline infusion, most of the increase in cardiac output was also distributed to the skeletal muscle. Total peripheral resistance changes did not reflect the resistance of individual beds, because vasoconstriction appeared early in some areas but was masked by prominent, although transient, vasodilation in skeletal muscle.


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Blatteis ◽  
J. R. Hales ◽  
A. A. Fawcett ◽  
T. A. Mashburn

To determine whether the reported absence of fever in full-term-pregnant ewes might be associated with shifts of regional blood flows from thermogenic tissues to placenta during this critical period, fevers were induced twice by injections of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.25 microgram/kg iv) into each of six Merino ewes from 8 to 1 days prepartum, and their regional blood flow distribution was measured with radioactive, 15-microns-diam microspheres before and during the rise in fever (when their rectal temperature had risen approximately 0.4 degree C). Unexpectedly, fever always developed, rising to heights not significantly different at any time before parturition [4-8 days prepartum = 0.81 +/- 0.23 degree C (SE); 1-3 days prepartum = 0.75 +/- 0.17 degree C) and similar to those in three wethers treated similarly (0.90 +/- 0.10 degree C). Generally, during rising fever, blood flow in the ewes shifted away from heat loss tissues (e.g., skin, nose) to heat production tissues (e.g., shivering muscle, fat) and cardiac output increased; blood flow through redistribution organs (e.g., splanchnic bed) decreased. The reverse occurred during defervescence. Utero-placental blood flow remained high in the febrile ewes. These regional blood flow distributions during febrigenesis and lysis are essentially the same as those during exposures to ambient cold and heat, respectively. Some differences in the responses of cardiac output and its redistribution, however, were apparent between wethers and pregnant ewes. We conclude that 1) the previously reported "absence of fever in the full-term-pregnant sheep" should not be regarded as a general phenomenon and 2) full-term-pregnant sheep support fever production without sacrificing placental blood flow.


1999 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique PATERON ◽  
Frédéric OBERTI ◽  
Pascale LEFILLIATRE ◽  
Nary VEAL ◽  
Khalid A. TAZI ◽  
...  

In cirrhosis there is a hyperdynamic circulation, which occurs mainly in the systemic and splanchnic regions. Using isolated-vessel models, previous studies have shown reduced aortic reactivity to vasoconstrictors in rats with cirrhosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the vascular responsiveness to phenylephrine in arterial rings and the blood flows from different regions in rats with cirrhosis and controls. Reactivity was studied in isolated thoracic aortic, superior mesenteric arterial and carotid arterial rings from sham-operated and bile-duct-ligated rats by measuring the cumulative concentration-dependent tension induced by phenylephrine (10-9–10-4 M). Blood flows were measured by the radioactive microsphere method. In rats with cirrhosis, a significant hyporeactivity to phenylephrine was observed in both the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery compared with the corresponding arteries of normal rats. This hyporesponsiveness was corrected by Nω-nitro-l-arginine (0.1 mM). In contrast, carotid artery reactivity and the responses to Nω-nitro-l-arginine were similar in the cirrhotic and control groups. In each case, cardiac output and mesenteric arterial blood flow were significantly higher in cirrhotic than in normal rats. Cerebral blood flows were not significantly different between the two groups. In cirrhotic rats, arterial hyporeactivity may be a consequence of increased regional blood flow and increased production of nitric oxide.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara J. MacIntyre ◽  
Bill Y. Ong ◽  
Daniel S. Sitar

Ethanol exposure in the neonatal period causes impaired brain growth and altered adult behaviour in rats. One possible mechanism may be altered cerebral perfusion caused by ethanol intoxication. We assessed the effects of ethanol on cerebral blood flow and its autoregulation in 2-day-old piglets. Piglets received ethanol (1.4 g/kg) or an equivalent volume of dextrose 5% in water over 30 min. One hour later, cerebral blood flow was measured using the microsphere technique at resting, elevated, and decreased mean arterial blood pressure. Ethanol-treated piglets had total cerebral blood flows of 88 ± 14, 82 ± 10, and 82 ± 12 mL∙100 g−1∙min−1 (mean ± SE) at mean arterial blood pressures of 12.4 ± 1.1, 15.7 ± 1.5, and 8.2 ± 0.9 kPa. Corresponding values in control piglets were 82 ± 14, 78 ± 4, and 82 ± 7 mL∙100 g−1∙min−1 at mean arterial blood pressures of 10.5 ± 1.5, 14.0 ± 1.2, and 7.7 ± 1.1 kPa. At resting arterial blood pressures, regional blood flows to basal ganglia, cortex, brainstem, and cerebellum in ethanol-treated piglets were 123 ± 21, 90 ± 16, 94 ± 17, and 77 ± 12 mL∙100 g−1∙min−1, respectively. Corresponding regional blood flows for the control piglets were 118 ± 16, 85 ± 15, 76 ± 16, and 76 ± 16 mL∙100 g−1∙min−1. Blood flow to basal ganglia was greater than to other brain regions in both ethanol-treated and control piglets (P < 0.01). Total and regional blood flows remained unchanged with altered mean arterial blood pressures, indicating normal autoregulation of cerebral blood flow in both ethanol-treated and control piglets.


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