September 22 to 25, 2010

Palais des Congrès/Montréal Convention Centre, Canada

COMMITTEES & HISTORY

SHR History

It is the innovative mind and remarkable discoveries of Professor Kozo Okamoto that launched the field of experimental hypertension. During his 60 years of professional excellence and in collaboration with colleagues such as Yukio Yamori, Aritomo Suzuki and Tsuneyuki Suzuki, Professor Okamoto contributed greatly to the advances in modern pathophysiology of this disease by creating spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), stoke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSPs) and malignant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (M-SHRSPs). The SHR is one of the best models of essential hypertension due to its close clinical and pathological correlation to the disease in humans. In addition to scientific distinction and honors from all the major academic centers of the world, Professor Okamoto promoted the internationalization of his discoveries by donating SHRSPs as well as SHRs to over 400 research institutions around the globe.  Today, these rats are present in the research of no less than 22 countries and over 300 papers are published every year on experimental hypertension. At the 12th International Symposium in Kyoto, 2006, the spontaneously hypertensive rat celebrated its 35th anniversary since its inception in Kyoto in 1971.