ABSTRACT
MODEL OF ARTERIOSCLEROSIS BY CALCIUM OVERLOAD PRODUCED WITH VITAMIN D3 There is evidence that vascular calcium overload is an important pathogenic factor in many vascular diseases, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and arteriosclerosis. This pattern of rat arteriosclerosis corresponds to the Mönckeberg type of media calcinosis,observed in human pathology. Old and/or hypertensive rats have been used to study arterial calcinosis, but these are not ideal models because, in animals, vascular calcium overload linked with age or hypertension is less pronounced than in humans. The greatest degree of Ca2+ overload with simultaneous structural damage of the arterial walls was achieved by administration of high doses of vitamin D3 or dihydrotachysterol in rats. Under these conditions, Ca2+ overload occurred within a few days.
