Abstract

RINCON, Rocío; MORENO, Martha; OROZCO, Camilo  and  HERNANDEZ, Aureliano. NIFEDIPINE, HYPOXIC PULMONARY HYPERTENSION INCIDENCE AND ARTERIOLES MUSCULAR ENGROSSMENT IN BROILERS. rev.udcaactual.divulg.cient. [online]. 2013, vol.16, n.2, pp.435-444. ISSN 0123-4226.

In hypoxic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), a disease affecting mammals and broiler chickens, there is an exaggerated increase of the intracellular calcium concentration and therefore vasoconstriction and engrossment of the vascular muscle layer. Nifedipine, a calcium channel's blocker is a vasodilator employed in PAH in humans. The effect of nifedipine on PAH incidence, cardiac mass index (CI) and the muscle middle layer thickness of arterioles (%T) with diameters from 50 to 100 micrometers (μM) in broilers was presently evaluated. Doses employed were: 6 and 2mg/kg of body weight between days 4 to 21 and 30 and 10mg/kg between days 22 to 42 of age, as related to a control group. A numerical dose dependent reduction in the mortality by PAH in medicated broilers was detected. CI values of birds dying spontaneously before day 42 of age, did not show statistical differences between treatments. The above mentioned finding also applied to animals slaughtered at day 42 (P>0.05). %T values in pulmonary hypertensive chickens treated with 30 and 10mg/kg of nifedipine, were significantly lower (P<0.05) when compared to pulmonary hypertensive chickens in the control group. It is desirable that more studies should be undertaken as to evaluate the viability of employing nifedipine in pulmonary hypertensive chickens.

Keywords : Ascites; calcium channel's blocker; cardiac mass index; poultry; vascular remodeling.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )