Abstract

The literature is extensive on how hypertension affects the morphology and function of the central nervous system (CNS) and is being focused on multiple organ damage involving the kidneys, heart, endothelium and retina. Hypertension damage to the peripheral nervous system is less explored in the literature. We have previously shown morphometric alterations in large and small caliber myelinated fibers of nerves in the adult spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). However, the functional correlation of these findings has not been explored. We performed an electrophysiological investigation of hind limb nerves in SHR of both genders in different ages. Normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as controls. Electrophysiological recordings and determination of motor (MCV) and sensory (SCV) nerve conduction velocity were performed in the same animals at four different ages: 5, 8, 20 and 40 weeks after birth. Comparisons were made between ages, genders and animal strain. We showed a continuous body weight increase in adult life in all animals studied. MCV got stable at 20-week old hypertensive animals and continued to increase in normotensive ones. The SCV was constant between the ages of 20 and 40 weeks old in female SHR and decreased in male SHR while it continued to increase in WKY animals. The electrophysiological investigation of the nerves in WKY and SHR from both genders and different ages, associated with morphological and morphometric data from the literature suggest that hypertension affects the nerve function and might corroborate the development of a peripheral neuropathy.

Highlights

  • As the adult population grows with increased life expectancy, cognitive impairment and dementia have become an increasingly common problem

  • The blood pressure data of male and female spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and WKY from different ages are shown in Figure 2

  • For SHR, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was generally higher than WKY animals in all ages but became remarkably higher in both genders at ages 20 and 40 weeks, compared to WKY

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Summary

Introduction

As the adult population grows with increased life expectancy, cognitive impairment and dementia have become an increasingly common problem. Cerebrovascular disease has been accepted as one of the most common etiology of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia worldwide (Meissner, 2016) and it is known that midlife hypertension is a leading risk factor for late-life dementia (Santisteban and Iadecola, 2018). An important feature of hypertension is the increase of vascular resistance despite the normal cardiac output. This increased resistance appears due to structural changes in the vascular system leading to the multiple organ damage in hypertension. Vascular structural changes in the peripheral nervous system were previously described (Sabbatini et al, 1996; Sanada et al, 2012), similar to those of large vessels for target organs in hypertension. It can be expected that, as the CNS and other known target organs, the peripheral nervous system may be sensitive to hypertension

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