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[Raising albino rats in a normobaric hypoxic environment]
Bollettino Della Societa Italiana Di Biologia Sperimentale
|April 30, 1983
Summary
Hypoxia exposure in rats causes blood acid-base imbalance and slower growth. Normobaric hypoxia showed less severe acid-base changes compared to simulated altitude, impacting weight gain after 35 days.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Environmental Medicine
Background:
- Previous studies indicated hypoxia at simulated altitude alters blood acid-base balance, increases 2,3-DPG, hemoglobin, and erythrocytes, while slowing growth in Wistar rats.
- It remained unclear whether hypobaria or hypoxia itself was responsible for these observed effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate the effects of hypobaria from hypoxia per se on physiological parameters in Wistar rats.
- To investigate the impact of sustained normobaric hypoxia on blood acid-base balance, hematological parameters, and body growth.
Main Methods:
- Wistar rats were exposed to normobaric hypoxic conditions for a minimum of 51 days and a maximum of 86 days.
- Blood samples were collected via cardiac puncture for analysis.
- Acid-base balance was measured using a hemogas-analyzer (IL 213), and lactacidemia was determined using Boehringer enzyme tests.
Main Results:
- Animals exposed to normobaric hypoxia exhibited a shift in blood acid-base balance towards the acidic side.
- This acid-base displacement was less pronounced than that observed in previous hypobaric hypoxia studies.
- Body weight gain in hypoxic rats mirrored normoxic controls until 35 days, after which it diverged by approximately 20%.
Conclusions:
- Normobaric hypoxia induces blood acid-base imbalance and affects growth, though to a lesser extent than hypobaric hypoxia.
- Hypoxia per se contributes to physiological changes, independent of barometric pressure.
- Sustained normobaric hypoxia impacts acid-base homeostasis and growth trajectory in developing Wistar rats.