Anestesia en el modelo animal de investigación cardiovascular / Anesthesia in animal models used in cardiovascular research

En investigación cardiovascular se ha empleado animales pequeños y grandes y de distintas especies como modelos. La elección de la especie que se use como modelo es una de las decisiones más importantes que se ha de tomar antes del inicio de una investigación biomédica. Una elección correcta de la técnica anestésica nos proporciona una mejora de las tasas de supervivencia, así como el mayor bienestar posible de los modelos animales empleados, lo que incrementa la aceptación ética y la eficiencia de estos modelos experimentales. Esta revisión analiza las características particulares de cada modelo animal empleado en investigación cardiovascular en cuanto a las técnicas analgésicas y anestésicas, así como las técnicas, los fármacos y su posología más adecuados a cada caso (AU)

Preclinical cardiovascular research employs of a wide range of animal models, including large and small animals and a variety of species. Selecting a species for use as an animal model is one of the most important decisions that has to be taken before starting a biomedical study. The appropriate choice of anesthesia increases the survival rate and improves animal welfare, both of which increase the ethical acceptability of this kind of research and ensure that the experimental models are used as efficiently as possible. This review discusses the specific characteristics of the different animal models used in cardiovascular research from the point of view of anesthesia and analgesia and, in each case, describes the most appropriate techniques, drugs and dosages (AU)

Resonancia magnética cardiaca en modelos animales / Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in animal models

La resonancia magnética se ha erigido en la técnica de elección para el diagnóstico y manejo de múltiples enfermedades. En el campo cardiaco permite alcanzar una precisión muy alta en la cuantificación y la caracterización tisular gracias a su elevada resolución espacial y temporal a la vez que permite una muy buena caracterización tisular. Por ello, su aplicación a la investigación traslacional resulta clave en la valoración de muchos de los resultados. En este original se revisan las aplicaciones de la técnica en distintos modelos animales, desde los más pequeños hasta el más empleado en la investigación cardiovascular traslacional, el porcino. Se analizan los distintos medios de contraste empleados y se sistematizan los estudios cardiacos para la obtención de los mejores resultados anatómicos y funcionales (AU)

Magnetic resonance imaging is now established as the gold standard for the diagnosis and management of a range of diseases. In cardiology, the technique’s high spatial and temporal resolution makes it possible to quantify and characterize anatomical structures with great precision. Consequently, it has played a key role in evaluating the results of translational research. This article contains a review of the application of magnetic resonance imaging in animal models, from the smallest species to the animal used most frequently in cardiovascular translational research - the pig. The different contrast media available are discussed, and a systematic guide to the cardiac studies that give the best anatomical and physiological results is presented (AU)

Vasomotor response to different endothelium-dependent vasodilators in an animal model.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Incomplete re-endothelialization of stents can be revealed as paradoxical vasoconstriction with endothelium-dependent vasodilators. As no consensus exists about the best method or agent, our objective is to analyze the response to different drugs in a coronary swine model. METHODS: Twenty-seven stents were implanted in 9 domestic swine. The vessel diameter of proximal and distal segments (≥5 mm) was assessed immediately post implantation. Different endothelium-dependent vasodilators were used: intracoronary (IC) acetylcholine, 20 µg (A2) and 40 µg (A4), IC serotonin (S), 100 µg, and isoproterenol (I), intravenous infusion. The results are presented as constriction (%) compared with maximal vasodilation with IC nitroglycerin (N, 200 µg). RESULTS: In 10 vessels (37%), A4 provoked an occlusive spasm. Acetylcholine induced a higher degree of vasoconstriction (A4, 42 ± 39%; A2, 16 ± 14%) than the rest of the agonists (S, 6 ± 12%; I, 6 ± 11%; P<.01). The constriction rate was not related to the induced hemodynamic changes. CONCLUSIONS: After focal endothelial denudation in a coronary swine model, the constriction rate induced by different endothelium-dependent vasodilators is highly variable. The highest value is observed after IC acetylcholine bolus. The constriction rate does not correlate with the observed hemodynamic changes.