Investigating the laterality of blood pressure regulation during cardiovascular disease progression

The outcomes of blood pressure regulation provide a clear picture of the underlying mechanisms of the arterial baroreflex, a critical cardiovascular reflex, during health and disease. Under normal blood pressure, the functional ...

To answer this question, Ibrahim Salman, Omar Ameer and an international team of scientists in pharmacy, bioelectronics and medicine at the Alfaisal University, Saudi Arabia, Case Western University, U.S., and the U.K., studied the impact of laterality on baroreflex-driven cardiovascular reflexes. They accomplished this by using a genetic model of essential hypertension—the spontaneously hypertensive rat . The research outcomes of the study are now published in the Journal of Hypertension .

Key highlights of the study The research team noted that by stimulating the left, right and bilateral aortic depressor nerve in the animal model, they could evoke frequency-dependent decreases in the mean arterial pressure, heart rate, mesenteric vascular resistance and femoral vascular resistance in the animal model. Primary author Ibrahim Salman said, "At first glance, the body is bilateral and looks symmetrical on both sides. But this first impression is quite deceptive, especially since it comes to functionally relevant differences between the left and right sides of the brain."

A schematic illustration of the lateralization during aortic baroreflex function. Credit: Journal of Hypertension (2023). DOI: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003448 Read more

Effects of left, right, and bilateral aortic depressor nerve stimulation (1–40 Hz, 0.4 mA, 0.2 ms, 20 s) on maximal changes in (a) mesenteric blood flow (MBF) and (b) mesenteric vascular resistance (MVR) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (n = 7–9). Results are expressed as mean ± SD. a P ≤ 0.05, left versus right, and and c P ≤ 0.05, right versus bilateral ADN analyzed by a two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's post hoc. Note that left and bilateral stimulation evoked the greatest drops in MBF and MVR (both overall and variably at frequencies above 5 Hz). Credit: Journal of Hypertension (2023). DOI: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003448 Read more

Effects of left (a), right (b), and bilateral (c) aortic depressor nerve (ADN) stimulation (1–40 Hz, 0.4 mA, 0.2 ms, 20 s) on differences in maximal changes in vascular resistance (VR) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (n = 7–9). Figure compares VR measured from the superior mesenteric artery, mesenteric vascular resistance (MVR) versus that measured from the femoral artery, femoral vascular resistance (FVR) under different stimulation conditions. Results are expressed as mean ± SD. a P ≤ 0.05, MVR versus FVR analyzed by a two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's post hoc. Note that regardless of the neurostimulation side, stimulation of the ADN produced larger reductions in FVR compared with MVR (both overall and variably at frequencies between 1 and 40 Hz). Credit: Journal of Hypertension (2023). DOI: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003448 Read more