Arterial stiffening and cardiac hypertrophy in a new rat model of type 2 diabetes

Background We determined the effects of NIDDM on haemodynamic parameters describing arterial wall elasticity and cardiac hypertrophy in rats administered streptozotocin (STZ) and nicotinamide (NA), using the aortic impedance analysis. Methods Male Wistar rats at 2 months were administered intraperitoneally 180 mg kg−1 of NA, 30 min before an intravenous injection of 50 mg kg−1 STZ, to induce type 2 diabetes. The STZ‐NA rats were divided into two groups, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after induction of diabetes, and compared with untreated age‐matched controls. Pulsatile aortic pressure and flow signals were measured by a high‐fidelity pressure sensor and electromagnetic flow probe, respectively, and were then subjected to Fourier transformation for the analysis of aortic input impedance. Results In each diabetic group, the experimental syndrome was characterized by a moderate and stable hyperglycaemia and a relative deficiency of insulin secretion. However, the 8‐week but not the 4‐week STZ‐NA diabetic rats showed a decrease in cardiac output in the absence of any significant changes in mean aortic pressure, having increased total peripheral resistance. The diabetic syndrome at 8 weeks also contributed to an increase in aortic characteristic impedance, from 1·49 ± 0·33 (mean ± SD) to 1·95 ± 0·28 mmHg s mL−1 (P