Abstract #1012

MRI of the Neurological Effects in a Rat Model of Hypertension

Adam Bernstein¹, Sumana Veeravelli¹, Alexander Alvarez¹, Megan Fitzhugh¹, Eriko Yoshimaru¹, Michael Valdez¹, John Totenhagen¹, Kewei Chen², James Moeller³, Paul Coleman⁴, Kenneth Mitchell⁵, Matt Huentelman⁶, Carol Barnes¹, Gene Alexander¹, Theodore Trouard¹

¹University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States; ²Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States; ³Columbia University, New York, NY, United States; ⁴Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ, United States; ⁵Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States; ⁶Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States

Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), high-resolution anatomical imaging and cognitive performance tests were carried out on a transgenic rat model of hypertension (HTN). After 6 weeks of HTN, significant differences between hypertensive and normotensive animals were seen in learning and memory function as well as in fractional anisotropy and patterns of gray matter volume.