1993 年 13 巻 2 号 p. 90-96
To determine whether the sympathetic nervous system is involved in the increase of blood pressure induced by occlusal interference, the effects of adrenergic antagonists on blood pressure were examined in 22 male Wistar rats. Systolic blood pressure was measured by using the tail-cuff method. Prazosin (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) and propranolol (1 mg/kg, i.p.) were used as α-and β-adrenergic antagonists, respectively. When a 3 mm unilateral bite-raising splint was applied for 20 days, the blood pressure during insertion of the splints increased significantly compared with that before insertion of the splints. However, the heart rate was not statistically significant between before and during insertion of the splints. The increased blood pressure, 143.1±6.6 mmHg, decreased significantly to 108.8±9.6 mmHg 1 h after the administration of prazosin. There was no statistically significant difference of heart rate between before and after administration of prazosin, although the heart rate increased from 333.6+29.2 to 377.6±22.1 bpm. Propranolol significantly reduced the blood pressure from 141.8±8.3 to 134.5±7.6 mmHg. The heart rate decreased from 323.6±15.8 to 294.8±34.0 bpm after administration; however, no statistically significant difference was observed. These results provide evidence that the increase of blood pressure induced by occlusal interference is mediated by activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
