Ventricular fibrillation and the Brattleboro rat.
Despite considerable evidence from both clinical and animal experiments, the role of beta-adrenergic stimulation in the development of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias is not well understood. Recent studies indicate that the posterior pituitary hormone, arginine vasopressin, may have a modulatory effect on cardiovascular sympathetic tone, especially with respect to blood pressure and heart rate. Employing the homozygous Brattleboro rat, an animal genetically deficient in the synthesis of arginine vasopressin, the following report offers evidence that the neuropeptide may also act on central pathways to suppress arrhythmogenic activity elicited by beta-adrenoceptor stimulation.
D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D007545:Isoproterenol / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains / Q000502:physiology*; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology*
D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D007545:Isoproterenol