Abstract
From the hypertensive stage with blood pressure at 200 mmHg (8 weeks old) or 230 mmHg (10 weeks old), stroke-prone SHR (SHRSP) were fed a diet based on fish meal as a protein source, and the effect of this diet on blood pressure, cerebral stroke lesions and life-span were observed. The results were as follows: 1) Prevention of blood pressure elevation and reduction in the incidence of cerebral stroke lesions were more prominent when the fish meal diet was given from an earlier age, but these effects were also observed even when the diet was supplied from the hypertensive stage. On the other hand, in the group fed the fish meal diet starting from the time when blood pressure became higher than 230 mmHg, prevention of blood pressure elevation was not observed, but obvious prolongation of lifespan occurred. 2) Inhibition of elevation of plasma renin activity (PRA) and suppression of the decrease in the elastic content of the aorta caused by hypertension were recognized in SHRSP fed the fish meal diet even from the hypertensive stage. These results suggest that administration of a fish meal diet to SHRSP at the hypertensive stage contributes to the suppression or therapy of hypertensive diseases.
