title: Role of sympathetic cardiovascular tone in control of arterial pressure in rats with cirrhosis.
abstract: Although an increase in sympathetic nervous activity has been recognized in cirrhosis, the contribution of this overactivity to the regulation of arterial pressure is unknown. The arterial pressure response to increasing doses of hexamethonium (0.05 to 3.2 mg.kg-1.min-1), a ganglionic blocker that decreases sympathetic cardiovascular tone, was explored in normal rats and in two models of portal hypertension, i.e., rats with cirrhosis and rats with portal vein stenosis. Changes in plasma norepinephrine concentrations were greater in rats with cirrhosis (356 +/- 50 vs 166 +/- 30 pg/ml, p = 0.04) than in normal rats (186 +/- 23 vs 86 +/- 31 pg/ml, p = 0.06) and rats with portal vein stenosis (103 +/- 37 vs 93 +/- 5 pg/ml, p = 0.10). The maximum decrease in arterial pressure was obtained at a dose of 1.6 mg.kg-1.min-1 in each group. However, the decrease in arterial pressure was significantly greater in rats with cirrhosis (-25 +/- 2%) than in normal rats (-11 +/- 1%) and in rats with portal vein stenosis (-13 +/- 2%) (p = 0.04). In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that the sympathetic cardiovascular tone is more important for the maintenance of arterial pressure in rats with cirrhosis than in normal rats and in rats with portal vein stenosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Hémodynamique Splanchnique, (INSERM U-24), Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kirstetter
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soupison
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cailmail
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hartleb
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lebrec
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D018738:Hexamethonium / Q000494:pharmacology; D008106:Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018738:Hexamethonium; D009638:Norepinephrine