Metabolic syndrome and losartan treatment effects in adult and pubertal rats

Introduction: Comparative estimation of losartan treatment effects in adult and pubertal rats with metabolic syndrome (MS). Material and methods: MS model was induced by full replacement of drinking water with 20% fructose solution at Wistar male rats of two age categories: young animals of 21–23 days age (50–70 g) and adults (160–180 g). Clinical hematology and biochemistry tests, blood pressure measurement, chromatin DNA fragmentation, and liver morphological investigations were carried out after 60 days of MS modeling and losartan treatment. Results: Effects of losartan on blood clotting time, lipid metabolism, and DNA fragmentation were more pronounced in pubertal rats, while more profound influence on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) contents, pancreas, and visceral fat relative weights was found in adults. Conclusions: In pubertal and adult rats with MS, losartan effects were age-dependent for lipid metabolism indices, blood clotting time, nuclear DNA fragmentation, relative organs weights, and liver morphologic structure. Losartan treatment normalized blood pressure independently of age, while its effects on other parameters in adults and young rats differed not only in their degree of manifestation but also in their very nature