Vascular changes of tone and biomechanical properties induced by ageing increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases. Caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to protect against cardiovascular diseases and improve endothelial dysfunction in cerebral resistance arteries.

We hypothesise that CR will enhance vascular tone and structural properties of cerebral resistance arteries and exert comparable beneficial effects on the systemic vasculature of aged rat model.

Eighteen-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were feed either ad libitum or restricted to 60 % of calorie consumption up to 24 months of age, when body weight (BW) measurements were taken and functional and structural properties of resistance arteries were assessed using a pressure myograph.

In cerebral arteries, CR increased myogenic tone (p < 0.001) and distensibility (p < 0.01) in response to intraluminal pressure and concentration-dependent constriction to KCl (p < 0.001). In mesenteric arteries constriction in response to KCl was increased (p < 0.0001) and wall thickness reduced (p < 0.01) in CR rats. BW was reduced (p < 0.0001) in FR rats.

Our findings demonstrate that CR improves vascular tone of resistance arteries regardless the type of stimulus and independently of the vascular bed. CR may be a beneficial dietary approach to prevent age-related vascular diseases.

衰老引起的血管张力和生物力学特性的变化会增加患心血管疾病的风险。热量限制 (CR) 已被证明可以预防心血管疾病并改善脑阻力动脉的内皮功能障碍。

我们假设 CR 将增强脑阻力动脉的血管张力和结构特性，并对老年大鼠模型的全身血管系统发挥相当的有益作用。

18 个月大的雄性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠在24 个月大时随意喂食或限制在 60% 的卡路里消耗，此时进行体重 (BW) 测量并使用以下方法评估阻力动脉的功能和结构特性压力肌动图。

在脑动脉中，CR 增加肌源性张力 ( p < 0.001) 和扩张性 ( p < 0.01)，以响应管腔内压力和 KCl 浓度依赖性收缩 ( p < 0.001)。在CR 大鼠中，响应于 KCl 的肠系膜动脉收缩增加 ( p < 0.0001) 和壁厚减少 ( p < 0.01)。FR 大鼠的体重降低 ( p < 0.0001)。

我们的研究结果表明，无论刺激类型如何，并且与血管床无关，CR 都能改善阻力动脉的血管张力。CR 可能是预防与年龄相关的血管疾病的有益饮食方法。