Aspects of the interrelation between hypertension and insulin resistance: A preliminary study
It is well known that some genetic factors and dietary factors. such as excessive salt intake and excessive caloric intake (resulting in obesity) are risk factors for hypertension. Fifty percent of all hypertensive patients are also insulin resistant. Both hypertension and insulin resistance are again risk factors for other cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and heart fai lure. The nature of the association between hypertension and insulin resistance has not heen clearly elucidated. Spontaneously hypertensive rats are the ideal models to study the aspects of the relationships between hypertension and insulin resistance. Models of high-fat feeding induce obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance and are thus used extensively to study hypertension because these models closely mimic some of the renal and cardiovascular changes found in human hypertensive pati ents. The present study was initiated to evaluate if insulin resistance will develop within 6 weeks in a model of high- fat diet induced hypertension and if so. to determine whether captopril will affect the presence of insulin resistance. This model should in future be used to study vascular reactivity to phenylephrine (PHE), acetylcholinc (AC!-1) and sodium ni troprusside (S~P) in hypertensive animals in the absence or presence of insulin resistance and in normotensive insulin resistant animals.
Glucose tolerance test, High-fat diet, Hypertension, Insulin resistance, Lipid profile
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations