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A rat-friendly modification of the non-invasive tail-cuff to record blood pressure

Lab Animal volume 46, pages 251–253 (2017)Cite this article

Recording accurate blood pressure data is critical for research into a variety of topics, including hypertension. In animal models, blood pressure measurement methods can be either invasive (direct) or non-invasive (indirect). Correlation between these two methods was presented in former papers1,2. Invasive methods generally require the use of anesthesia. However, evidence indicates that anesthesia can disturb the physiology of the laboratory animal3,4,5; this can be problematic when interpreting results and can lead to potentially false conclusions6. The non-invasive alternative involves applying a tail-cuff for blood pressure measurement. This method is commonly used in basic and preclinical research with rats. Different laboratories, however, apply the method in different ways. Many authors fail to give details of their protocols in the Material and Methods sections of their studies. This can lead to inconsistent findings and issues with reproducibility, especially if no detailed description of each step used is available.

Current standardized restraint methods involve confining the laboratory animal in plastic chambers7,8,9,10. Although they are acclimated and trained to be in the chamber before measurements are taken, the animals often struggle under such conditions nevertheless. This reduced comfort and raised fear can lead to panic and anxiety in the animals11. Defecation and urination often accompany struggling, along with light to moderate, but often very hard, cheeping. The panic reaction of the animal can also influence others that may be waiting in the testing room. These important practical facts and observations are, however, sparsely published12.

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Figure 1: Blood pressure of Wistar rats following the classical restraint using a plastic container and the new covered technique.
Figure 2: Blood pressure measurement results of all three groups prior to the diet and in the fifth and eighth week of the diet.
Figure 3: Heart rate measurements recorded parallel with blood pressure measurements following the new technique, prior to the diet and then in the fifth and eighth week of the diet.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mrs. Katarína Vandáková for her excellent technical assistance during the experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, Bratislava, 841 04, Slovakia

    Boris Lipták, Barbara Kaprinay & Zdenka Gáspárová

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, BioMed, Malá Hora 4C, 036 01, Martin, Slovakia

    Boris Lipták & Barbara Kaprinay

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  1. Boris Lipták
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  2. Barbara Kaprinay
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  3. Zdenka Gáspárová
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Correspondence to Boris Lipták.

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Lipták, B., Kaprinay, B. & Gáspárová, Z. A rat-friendly modification of the non-invasive tail-cuff to record blood pressure. Lab Anim 46, 251–253 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.1272

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