Long-term treatment with supraphysiological doses of nandrolone decanoate reduces the sensitivity of Bezold-Jarisch reflex control of heart rate and blood pressure.

Full Abstract

We investigated the influence of long-term treatment with supraphysiological doses of an anabolic-androgenic steroid on the Bezold-Jarisch reflex (BJR) control of heart rate (HR) and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), and whether this treatment induced cardiac hypertrophy. Male rats were treated with nandrolone decanoate (ND) (10 mg kg(-1) body weight for 8 weeks; DECA) or vehicle (control animals; CON). After 8 weeks of treatment, the BJR was evaluated by bradycardia and hypotension responses that were elicited by serotonin administration (2-32 microg kg(-1)). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was assessed and cardiac hypertrophy was determined by the ratio of the left and right ventricle weight/body weight (LVW/BW and RVW/BW, respectively) and by histological analysis. Total body protein (TBP) content was also evaluated. Nandrolone decanoate treatment increased MAP (CON=99+/- 1 mmHg; DECA=109+/-2 mmHg; p<0.01) but did not change the mean basal HR (CON=356+/-13 bpm; DECA=367+/-11 bpm). The treatment also induced LV and RV hypertrophy (LVW/BW: CON=1.86+/-0.04 mg g(-1), DECA=2.17+/-0.04 mg g(-1), p<0.01; RVW/BW: CON=0.42+/-0.02 mg g(-1), DECA=0.53+/-0.03 mg g(-1), p<0.05) and reduced the number of myocyte nuclei/high-power field (CON=23.0+/-2; DECA=9.4+/-1.0; p<0.01). ND treatment blunted the HR and DAP decreases induced by serotonin. ND determines an increase in the TBP content in DECA group (35+/-3%; p<0.01) compared with control animals (18+/-1%). We conclude that 8 weeks of ND treatment induces anabolic effect, cardiac hypertrophy and an elevation of MAP. This treatment also reduces the sensitivity of the BJR control of bradycardia and blood pressure, possibly due to cardiac hypertrophy. The blunted BJR response could contribute to the MAP elevation in DECA animals.

Author information

Author/s: Bissoli, Nazaré Souza (NS); Medeiros, Ana Raquel Santos (AR); Santos, Maria Carmen Silva (MC); Busato, Vera Cristina W (VC); Jarske, Robson Dettman (RD); Abreu, Gláucia Rodrigues (GR); Moysés, Margareth Ribeiro (MR); de Andrade, Tadeu Uggere (TU);

Affiliation: Department of Physiological Sciences, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Pharmacological research : the official journal of the Italian Pharmacological Society (Pharmacol Res), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jun; vol 59 (issue 6) : pp 379-84

Dates: Created 2009/05/11; Completed 2009/09/01;

PMID: 19429469, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/1/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.