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Homozygous Brattleboro (i.e. vasopressin-deficient) rats were chronically instrumented with pulsed Doppler probes and intravascular catheters to permit continuous monitoring of regional haemodynamics. Over a 9 h period, rats drinking water showed no systematic changes in heart rate or mean arterial blood pressure although renal, mesenteric and hindquarters vascular conductances fell. These changes showed diurnal rhythms, probably related to the nocturnal habits of rats. In separate groups of animals spontaneous oral ingestion of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA; 1 mg ml-1) or NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 0.1 mg ml-1) caused marked hypertension but no significant bradycardia. Compared to control animals, rats drinking L-NMMA for 9 h showed significantly greater mesenteric and hindquarters vasoconstrictions, and rats drinking L-NAME showed greater vasoconstrictions in all 3 vascular beds.
Gardiner et al. (1990) studied this question.