Fig. 4.

Effect of MC3/4R antagonism in old female SHR. Old female SHR, aged 18–20 mo, were implanted with intracerebroventricular cannulas and radiotelemeters, as described in materials and methods. Two weeks later, baseline MAP and heart rate were measured for 5 days, and then half of the rats were given SHU-9119 (1 nmol/h at 0.5 μl/h icv; n = 6) or vehicle (icv 0.9% NaCl; n = 6) for 9 days. A: food intake in old females during the baseline and SHU-9119 (or vehicle) infusion. Data are presented as grams per day and expressed as means ± SE. *P < 0.05 compared with vehicle-treated rats. B: MAP in old females during baseline and SHU-9119 (or vehicle) infusion. Data are presented as mmHg and expressed as means ± SE. *P < 0.05 SHU-treated rats compared with vehicle treated. C: heart rate in young females during baseline and SHU-9119 (or vehicle) infusion. Data are presented as bpm and expressed as means ± SE.