Effects of combined therapy of ACE inhibitor and exercise on cardiovascular functions and morphology of the heart and kidneys in SHR

Abstract

An exercise regimen rarely causes organ damage in humans or rats with established essential hypertension. However, daily exercise is essential for elderly people to prolong a healthy lifespan. This study was designed to examine the effects of exercise training alone and the combined treatment of exercise and anti-hypertensive medication on morphological characteristics of the heart and kidneys, as well as to examine the response to pressor agents in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). SHRs were divided into the following four groups and control group: the voluntary wheel running exercise (SHR-Ex), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I), captopril (Capt) administration (SHR-Capt), Capt administration and exercise (SHR-Capt & Ex), and sedentary control (SHR-Sed) groups. Wister-Kyoto (WKY) rats were also used and divided into either exercise (WKY-Ex) or sedentary control (WKY-Sed) groups. These treatments were conducted from 8 to 23 weeks of age. Approximately 20 mg/kg/ day of Capt dissolved in tap water was given daily in Capt-treated animals. After the treatment period, both the SHR-Sed and SHR-Ex groups exhibited hypertension, hyperpressor responsiveness, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyocyte fibrosis, and renal hypertrophy, accompanied by an enlargement of glomerular and mesangial areas. On the other hand, the Capt-treated SHR groups showed an inhibition of blood pressure elevation, no organ damage, and suppression of pressor responsivity to levels comparable to those of the normotensive WKY rats. The present results suggest that a combined treatment with exercise and an ACE-I such as Capt is recommended for middle-aged and elderly essential hypertensive patients to avoid secondary risks of cardiovascular related diseases induced by exercise alone.

Effects of combined therapy of ACE inhibitor and exercise on the development of diabetic nephropathy in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats

“…Therefore, to obtain stable levels, OGTT was performed under diethyl ether anesthesia. Approximately 500 μL blood was obtained from the retro-orbital sinus 4,5,26) immediately before and at 30, 60, and 120 min after oral administration of glucose (2 g/kg BW). The BG concentrations were measured at these times (Glucose C II-test; Wako Pure Chemical Industries), and area under the BG concentration-time curve (AUCglucose) was calculated 1) .…”

“…The right kidney of each rat was halved longitudinally, placed in 20% formalin for 1 week, and embedded in paraffin. Paraffin sections stained with periodic acid silver methenamine were used to determine glomerular size as previously described [4][5][6]30) . The glomerular and mesangial areas [A(G) and A(M), respectively] were measured using an automatic image analyzer (Olympus SP-500; AVIO, Tokyo, Japan) fitted onto a microscope [4][5][6]30) .…”

“…While an exercise regimen for obese diabetic patients with hypertension produces BW reduction and improvements in GI and dyslipidemia 1,5,6) , it may be involved in the progression of organ damage, such as heart and kidneys 4) . Therefore, it is necessary to develop an exercise regimen without the progression of DN for hypertensive diabetic patients.…”

“…Capt was chosen for the study in accordance with previous studies 4,21,23) . Our findings suggest that a combined treatment of exercise and antihypertensive agents, such as Capt, is recommended as an ideal regimen for hypertensive diabetic patients to avoid DN progression induced by an exercise regimen alone.…”

The Effects of Continuous and Withdrawal Voluntary Wheel Running Exercise on the Expression of Senescence-Related Genes in the Visceral Adipose Tissue of Young Mice

“…Ishaq et al [ 13 ] reported that dietary restriction ameliorates the level of senescence-related markers, such as p16 and p21, in the visceral adipose tissue of comparatively aged mice (17.5-month-old mice). Similarly, regular exercise, with or without using a free-running wheel, decreases visceral fat volume [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Exercise is well known to protect against the development of fat cell hypertrophy and insulin resistance [ 19 ].…”