EFFECT OF NAPROXCINOD ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND VASCULAR RESPONSE TO ACETYLCHOLINE IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS

EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL BACKGROUND The use of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may increase blood pressure (BP), induce new onset and aggravate hypertension and predispose to cardiovascular events (Wilson & Poulter, 2006; McGettigan & Henry, 2006) Hypertension is a frequent comorbidity in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) (~ 50% of OA patients ≥ 65 years) (Singh et al., 2002) Hypertension is associated to endothelial dysfunction, characterized by impaired nitric oxide (NO) production and activity (Munzel et al, 2008) Cyclooxygenase-inhibiting nitric oxide donators (CINODs), by inhibiting both COX-1 and COX-2 while releasing NO, were originally designed to mitigate some of NSAIDs’ unwanted effects, such as gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse events (Wallace et al., 2009)