Key result
Chronic L-arginine restores ~97% post-ischemic vascular function in adult rats, but not infant or elderly.
Why the study?
Does chronic administration of L-arginine improve post-ischemic recovery of vascular function in rats of different ages?
Does chronic administration of L-arginine improve post-ischemic recovery of vascular function in rats of different ages?
Absolute Event Rate: 97% vs 21.5%
p-value: p=<0.05
Chronic oral administration of L-arginine enhances post-ischemic recovery of vascular function in young adult and adult rat hearts, but not in infant or elderly hearts.
No immediate clinical implications from this animal study; leaves open targeted investigation of age-specific L-arginine effects.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of chronic administration of L-arginine (LA) on vascular functions as well as its age-related changes. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 1, 4, 8 and 16 months were divided into control and LA groups, which were administered LA (4 mg/ml) for 6 weeks. Isolated heart perfusion was performed, followed by cardioplegic arrest for 4h at 4 degrees C and reperfusion. Vascular functions were assessed through observations of pre-/post-ischemic coronary flow response to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). Ultrastructure was studied after the same ischemia-reperfusion. RESULTS: A significant improvement of percentage recovery (post-/pre-ischemic value) of response to 5-HT were seen in 4 and 8 months LA group when compared to the control (84.2+/-14.0 vs. 33.9+/-12.5 (P<0.05) and 97.0+/-23.2 vs. 21.5+/-9.7 (P<0.05), respectively). Furthermore, 8 months LA group had better percentage recovery of response to GTN (124.5+/-41.6 vs. 47.7+/-6.3, P<0.05). Ultrastructural study showed no significant differences between the groups in any age. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic oral administration of LA enhanced the post-ischemic recovery of vascular function in the young adult and adult hearts, but not in the infant and elderly.
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Nakamura et al. (2003) studied Ischemia-reperfusion injury. L-arginine vs. Control was evaluated on Percentage recovery (post-/pre-ischemic value) of response to 5-HT at 8 months (p=<0.05). Chronic administration of L-arginine enhanced post-ischemic recovery of response to 5-HT in 8-month-old rats compared to control (97.0% vs 21.5%, P<0.05), but not in infant or elderly rats.
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