title: Reduced incidence of stress ulcer in germ-free Sprague Dawley rats.
abstract: Recent findings with respect to the role of spiral gram-negative bacteria in peptic ulcer disease have stimulated interest in discerning the role of these agents in stress ulcer disease. We tested the hypothesis that a standard restraint-cold ulcerogenic procedure would fail to produce ulcers in axenic rats. Axenic, as well as normal Sprague Dawley rats, were exposed to a cold-restraint procedure. The germ-free condition was maintained throughout the study in the axenic rats. Axenic rats had significantly fewer ulcers as compared to normal rats exposed to the standard cold-restraint procedure, as well as handling control rats. The data represent the first report suggesting a microbiologic component in the development of stress ulcer using the rat model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Perry Point, MD 21902.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Paré
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Burken
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kluczynski
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*