Aging: effects on minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) for halothane in Fischer-344 rats.
It is well-established that the anesthetic requirement (MAC) of volatile agents such as halothane is reduced in elderly patients. The current project was designed to determine whether a similar alteration in anesthetic requirement occurs in Fischer-344 (F-344) rats, an animal model often utilized in physiology and pharmacology to examine aging-related changes. Animals were exposed to increasing or decreasing levels of halothane. After equilibration at each concentration, the response to tail-clamping was used for MAC testing. MAC was reduced approximately 17% in aged (25 months) versus young adult (5 months) animals. From these data, it is concluded that the F-344 rat may be an adequate model for examination of age-dependent alterations in the actions of volatile anesthetics.
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Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock 72205.
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Kennedy
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D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006221:Halothane / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen; D006221:Halothane