Haemorheological characterisation of a model of diet-induced hypercholesterolaemia in rats

This investigation examined the haemorheological changes that occurred in rats during and after administration of high-fat diets containing 10% lard and 1% cholic acid, both with and without 2% cholesterol for a period of 2 weeks. Rats fed the high-fat diet enriched with cholesterol showed markedly impaired fluidity of whole blood, increases of blood viscosity, plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, and impaired skin microcirculation shortly after the start of this diet regimen. Additionally, increased liver mass, and lipid accumulation in hepatocytes were observed after two weeks. In contrast, rats fed the high-fat, cholesterol-free diet had less pronounced haemorheological disorders, increased liver mass and lipid accumulation in the liver than rats given the cholesterol-enriched diet. Histopathologically, there were no marked changes in blood vessels or liver in rats fed these diets for 2 weeks, except for fatty liver changes. Dietary induced hypercholesterolaemia therefore contributes to the haemorheological disorder, impaired microcirculation and fatty liver change.