Experimental rats – for a healthy lifestyle!

Unhealthy lifestyle of laboratory rats hinders biomedical researchCopper news
The unhealthy lifestyle of laboratory rats and mice, including their lack of mobility and overweight, negatively affect the results of biomedical research.

Such conclusions, as reported by Nature (Fat rats skew research results), were reached by researchers from the American National Institute of Aging in Bethesda, Maryland.

According to scientists, laboratory rats and mice kept under standard conditions usually have free access to food and at the same time are limited in physical activity. The combination of these factors leads to the development of overweight animals and a number of chronic diseases.

This state of affairs leads to a significant distortion of the results of scientific research. For example, the effect of experimental drugs or changes in environmental conditions affect sick rodents differently than their healthy counterparts. For example, such distortions, according to the authors of the study, explain the data on the beneficial effect of low-calorie diets on the life expectancy of experimental animals.

Metabolic disorders associated with overweight or obesity in laboratory animals cannot but affect the results of research on new methods of treating oncological, neurological diseases, as well as various disorders of the immune system.

To eliminate this problem, researchers should strictly control the diet of laboratory animals, as well as necessarily place treadmills in their cages.

An article by researchers from Bethesda published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences B. Martin et al., “Control” laboratory rodents are metabolically morbid: Why it matters.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.03.2010