Effects of vasectomy and exercise upon aortic extensibility, cholesterol deposition, and stainable tissue lipids.

The effects of vasectomy and exercise upon arterial extensibility, cholesterol deposition, and the extent of stainable tissue lipids were determined in rats. A 2 X 3 factorial design with two activity levels (treadmill exercise and sedentary) and three treatment levels (vasectomy, sham vasectomy and control) were employed. The exercise groups had significantly greater arterial extensibility measures at breaking load and stretch distance at 45% load and breaking point. The vasectomy-sedentary group had significantly less extensibility than the control-sedentary group for stiffness and stretch distance at 45% load and breaking point. Vasectomy significantly increased the amount of esterified and total cholesterol in aortic tissue. The vasectomy-sedentary group had significantly higher unesterified cholesterol levels than the three exercise groups. Total cholesterol levels were significantly higher for the sedentary groups than the exercise groups. There were no significant differences between groups in the extent of stainable tissue lipids.