Sleeve Gastrectomy Reduces Blood Pressure in Obese (fa/fa) Zucker Rats

Sleeve gastrectomy constitutes an effective surgical procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity in humans and rodents with diet-induced obesity. The aim of the present study was to establish the effects of sleeve gastrectomy on weight loss and cardiovascular parameters in genetically obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats. Eleven-week-old male obese (fa/fa) (n = 20) Zucker rats were assigned to three alternative procedures (sham operation, sleeve gastrectomy, or pair-fed to the amount of food eaten by sleeve-gastrectomized animals) and compared with lean Zucker (Fa/Fa) rats (n = 9). Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and mean (MBP) blood pressure values as well as heart rate (HR) were recorded in conscious, resting animals by non-invasive tail-cuff plethysmography before and 3 weeks after the surgical interventions. Sleeve-gastrectomized rats experienced a reduction in body weight (P < 0.01), total adiposity amounts (P < 0.001), together with an increased excess weight loss (%EWL) (P < 0.05) compared with sham-operated and pair-fed animals 3 weeks after the surgical interventions. Rats with sleeve gastrectomy exhibited reduced (P < 0.01) blood pressure values (Delta SBP = -11 +/- 8 mmHg; Delta DBP = -6 +/- 4 mmHg; Delta MBP = -8 +/- 6 mmHg) compared with the control group, but no changes were observed in HR (P = 0.560). Sham-operated and pair-fed groups did not alter their cardiovascular variables. Our findings provide evidence of the beneficial effects of sleeve gastrectomy on blood pressure values in addition to the weight loss in obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats independently of surgical trauma and food intake reduction.