Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Large Type Edition
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]
Author:
Keyword(s):
Year:  Vol:  Page: 


This Article
Alert me when this article is cited
Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Similar articles in this journal
Alert me to new issues of the journal
Download to citation manager
Cited by other online articles
Google Scholar
Articles by Chang, K-C
Articles by Chen, T-J
Articles citing this Article
PubMed
Articles by Chang, K-C
Articles by Chen, T-J

Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 53, Issue 4 B274-B280, Copyright © 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America


JOURNAL ARTICLE

Age-related changes of arterial mechanical properties in rats: analysis using exponentially tapered t-tube model

K-C Chang, T-F Tsai, C-Y Chow, Y-I Peng and T-J Chen
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

This study was designed to explore the changes of mechanical properties in the rat's arterial system at different ages by using the exponentially tapered T-tube model. Long-Evans male rats at the ages of 6, 12, and 18 months were anesthetized and thoractomized. Rats at the ages of 6, 12, and 18 months were individually referred to as young, adult, and middle-aged rats. The pulsatile pressure and flow signals in the ascending aorta were measured by a high-fidelity pressure sensor and electromagnetic flow probe, respectively. Model parameters, such as aortic characteristic impedance, vascular tapering index, wave transmit time, and arterial load compliance were inferred from the aortic pressure and flow signals to describe the pulsatile nature of blood flows in the vasculature. The static hemodynamic condition in those animals with different ages was characterized by (i) no changes in cardiac output and (ii) a decrease in heart rate, arterial blood pressure, as well as total peripheral resistance. As for the pulsatile nature of the arterial system, the wave transit time remained unaltered, indicating there was no change in the aorta's distensibility of rats at those three different ages. The arterial load compliance, which describes the buffering nature of a hollow vessel, also remained unchanged. On the contrary, there was a significant fall in aortic characteristic impedance in those age-related rats. The decline of aortic characteristic impedance without a significant change in arterial distensibility suggests that lumen growth of the aorta and large arteries may occur in rats up to middle age.


This article has been cited by other articles: (Search Google Scholar for Other Citing Articles)


Home page
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med SciHome page
K.-C. Chang, Y.-I Peng, S.-H. Dai, and Y.-Z. Tseng
Age-Related Changes in Pumping Mechanical Behavior of Rat Ventricle in Terms of Systolic Elastance and Resistance
J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., September 1, 2000; 55(9): 440B - 447.
[Abstract] [Full Text]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All GSA journals The Gerontologist
Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Copyright © 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America.