[Body weight profile in acute mesenteric ischemia. Experimental study in New-Zealand rabbits].
OBJECTIVE
There are few investigation studies that relate acute mesenteric ischemia and body weight in animal experimentation. The aim is to studying whether initial weight loss is related to the magnitude of the aggression induced by clamps of the superior mesenteric artery for 30 and 60 minutes, and whether reperfusion ischemia may hinder weight recovery in surviving animals at the end of 11 weeks of experimental work with New Zealand rabbits through a valid experimental model.


METHODS
80 animals (rabbits) were distributed in four series of 20 each one: series I (control), animals were weighed for 11 weeks; series II (simulated surgery); series III (mesenteric ischemia for 30 minutes); series IV (mesenteric ischemia for 60 minutes). We induced ischemia by clamping the superior mesenteric artery. Animals from series II, III, and IV were weighed 24 hours before the surgical procedure and weekly after surgery along their survival, until completing 11 weeks. For weight analysis, an ANOVA test was used by confronting the percentage weight variation according to the series. All animals were necropsied to know the cause of death and histological lesions of the intestinal mucosa.


RESULTS
Series I had a linear weight increase until the end of the observation period. Series II, III and IV had a significant initial decrease of the percentage weight during the first post-surgical week, with a recovery towards the end of the study, but significantly lower as compared to the control series. Significant differences have also been found in weight recovery at 11 weeks between series II and series III and IV, and between ischemic series.


CONCLUSIONS
Animals in series II, III, and IV reached at the end of the study a percentage weight significantly lower to that obtained by series I. In the experimental animal mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion processes, the initial percentage weight loss in the postsurgical period is influenced not only by ischemia time but also by pre-and postsurgical manipulations; by contrast, the longer ischemia time is, the greater weight loss at the end of the study will be.
Guijarro Escribano
J E
JE
Servicio de Cirugía Vascular, Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla, Madrid, Espaäna. jfge41@wanadoo.es
Gutiérrez Ortega
C
C
Montenegro Alvarez de Tejada
P
P
Arias Díaz
J
J
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D007511:Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008643:Mesentery / Q000098:blood supply*; D011817:Rabbits