Amphetamine-Induced Sensitization of Hypertension and Lamina Terminalis Neuroinflammation.

Amphetamine-Induced Sensitization of Hypertension and Lamina Terminalis Neuroinflammation. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2020 Feb 12;: Authors: Hurley SW, Beltz TG, Guo F, Xue B, Johnson AK Abstract Psychomotor stimulants are prescribed for many medical conditions including obesity, sleep disorders and attention deficit-hyperreactivity disorder. However, in spite of their acknowledged therapeutic utility these stimulants are frequently abused, and their use can have both short- and long-term negative consequences. Although stimulants such as amphetamines acutely elevate blood pressure, it is unclear whether they cause any long-term effects on cardiovascular function after use has been discontinued. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that physiological and psychosocial stressors will produce sensitization of the hypertensive response, a heightened pressor response to a hypertensinogenic stimulus delivered after stressor exposure. Here we tested whether pretreatment with amphetamine for one week can sensitize the hypertensive response in rats. We found that repeated amphetamine administration induced and maintained sensitization of the pressor response to angiotensin II (Ang II) following a 7-day delay after amphetamine injections were terminated. We also found that amphetamine pretreatment altered mRNA expression for molecular markers associated with neuroinflammation and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system ac...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol Source Type: research