Year-long antihypertensive therapy with candesartan completely prevents development of cardiovascular organ injuries in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Most previous studies have examined the effects of antihypertensive drugs in hypertensive animals for only a few months, and little information has been provided as to the protective effects of lifetime antihypertensive medication against cardiovascular organ injury. In this study, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were treated for 1 year with an angiotensin-II receptor antagonist (ARB) and the development of hypertensive organ injury was evaluated. Male 15-week-old SHR (n = 9) were given 25 mg/L candesartan (CS) in their drinking water for 1 year. Twelve SHR and 9 normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were given normal tap water. Tail-cuff blood pressure was almost normalized by CS throughout 1 year (at 12-months: WKY 132 ± 3, SHR 229 ± 3, CS 137 ± 4 mmHg). After 1 year, cardiac ventricular weight (SHR +33%, CS -2% versus WKY) and aortic thickness (SHR +34%, CS +4% versus WKY) in the CS-treated SHR rats were not different than those of WKY. Echocardiographic midwall fractional shortening (SHR -18%, CS -1% versus WKY) and left ventricular hydroxyproline content (SHR +47%, CS +11% versus WKY) were also improved by CS to the WKY level. With respect to kidney function, GFR (SHR -24%, CS +9% versus WKY) was preserved, proteinuria (SHR +312%, CS +12% versus WKY) was reduced, and the histological glomerular injury rate (SHR +186%, CS +6% versus WKY) was reduced by CS. These results suggest that long-term antihypertensive therapy with CS can completely prevent hypertensive cardiovascular and renal injuries in SHR.
Department of Hypertension and Cardiorenal Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
Toshihiko
T
Ishimitsu
Takeaki
T
Honda
Eri
E
Ohno
Satoshi
S
Furukata
Yasuyo
Y
Sudo
Nobuyuki
N
Nakano
Toshiaki
T
Takahashi
Hidehiko
H
Ono
Hiroaki
H
Matsuoka
D000818:Animals; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018619:Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000737:chemistry; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D012598:Sclerosis; D013777:Tetrazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D001562:Benzimidazoles; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D013777:Tetrazoles; C081643:candesartan