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A NEW METHOD TO QUANTIFY CORE TEMPERATURE INSTABILITY IN RODENTS.
Citation:
GORDON, C. J. A NEW METHOD TO QUANTIFY CORE TEMPERATURE INSTABILITY IN RODENTS. Presented at Experimental Biology 2009, New Orleans, LA, April 20 - 23, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
NA
Description:
Methods to quantify instability of autonomic systems such as temperature regulation should be important in toxicant and drug safety studies. Stability of core temperature (Tc) in laboratory rodents is susceptible to a variety of stimuli. Calculating the temperature differential of Tc monitored by radiotelemetry is proposed as a method to quantify the stability of the rodent thermoregulatory system. Mice and rats were implanted with radiotelemetric implants (Data Sciences Int) to monitor Tc at 1-10 min intervals under a variety of environmental conditions. The absolute value of the Tc differential (ATD; °C/hr) was calculated for periods of > 24 hr. Mean Tc was stable while ATD could vary depending on ambient temperature (Ta), genetic strain, cage bedding, and body size. For example, the ATD was significantly higher in mice than rats. Mean Tc was stable over a wide range of ambient temperatures (Ta) while the ATD changed inversely with Ta. Overall, the ATD is simple to calculate from telemetry data and may be an important parameter to assess the effects of toxicological and pharmacological agents on thermoregulation. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy