Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.

Pre-established anaesthetic protocols in animal models might unexpectedly interfere with the main outcome of scientific projects and therefore they need to account for the specific research goals. We aimed to optimize the anaesthetic protocol and animal handling strategies in a diabetes-related-stud...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sabrina Soares, Elisabeth Wühl, Alexander Schlund, Tobias Schneider, Kyra Sohns, Roman Rukwied, Martin Schmelz, Bettina Kränzlin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316570
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1825206805128544256
author Sabrina Soares
Elisabeth Wühl
Alexander Schlund
Tobias Schneider
Kyra Sohns
Roman Rukwied
Martin Schmelz
Bettina Kränzlin
author_facet Sabrina Soares
Elisabeth Wühl
Alexander Schlund
Tobias Schneider
Kyra Sohns
Roman Rukwied
Martin Schmelz
Bettina Kränzlin
author_sort Sabrina Soares
collection DOAJ
description Pre-established anaesthetic protocols in animal models might unexpectedly interfere with the main outcome of scientific projects and therefore they need to account for the specific research goals. We aimed to optimize the anaesthetic protocol and animal handling strategies in a diabetes-related-study exemplifying how the anaesthetic approach must be adjusted for individual research targets. Aachen minipigs were used as a model to test long-lasting skin glucose sensors for diabetic human patients. A total of 6 animals participated in two or three rounds of experiments. Each round lasted 2 months, with a maximum of 2 rounds per year. In each round, animals were anaesthetised 4 times: for glucose sensors insertion, twice for glucagon stress tests (GST), and a last time for removal of sensors. Acepromazine (ACE) was compared to medetomidine (MED) in association with butorphanol (BUT) and Ketamine (KET) and 4 parameters were analysed to define the optimum anaesthetic protocol including: sedation level, anaesthesia duration, effects on blood glucose and safety. ACE-BUT demonstrated a weaker sedative effect but reduced overall experimental time, minimized anaesthetic risk and minimally interfered with the glucose metabolism. The improvement obtained by animal conditioning and handling strategies applied in this study were not objectively estimated, although the aversion behavior was completely abolished. Based on the analysed parameters, the use of acepromazine is proposed to be superior when Aachen Minipigs are used specifically as a model for diabetes-related studies, albeit the recommendations for the anaesthesia of minipigs suggest otherwise.
format Article
id doaj-art-9665d32708874d42936d40b830e81011
institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-9665d32708874d42936d40b830e810112025-02-07T05:30:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031657010.1371/journal.pone.0316570Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.Sabrina SoaresElisabeth WühlAlexander SchlundTobias SchneiderKyra SohnsRoman RukwiedMartin SchmelzBettina KränzlinPre-established anaesthetic protocols in animal models might unexpectedly interfere with the main outcome of scientific projects and therefore they need to account for the specific research goals. We aimed to optimize the anaesthetic protocol and animal handling strategies in a diabetes-related-study exemplifying how the anaesthetic approach must be adjusted for individual research targets. Aachen minipigs were used as a model to test long-lasting skin glucose sensors for diabetic human patients. A total of 6 animals participated in two or three rounds of experiments. Each round lasted 2 months, with a maximum of 2 rounds per year. In each round, animals were anaesthetised 4 times: for glucose sensors insertion, twice for glucagon stress tests (GST), and a last time for removal of sensors. Acepromazine (ACE) was compared to medetomidine (MED) in association with butorphanol (BUT) and Ketamine (KET) and 4 parameters were analysed to define the optimum anaesthetic protocol including: sedation level, anaesthesia duration, effects on blood glucose and safety. ACE-BUT demonstrated a weaker sedative effect but reduced overall experimental time, minimized anaesthetic risk and minimally interfered with the glucose metabolism. The improvement obtained by animal conditioning and handling strategies applied in this study were not objectively estimated, although the aversion behavior was completely abolished. Based on the analysed parameters, the use of acepromazine is proposed to be superior when Aachen Minipigs are used specifically as a model for diabetes-related studies, albeit the recommendations for the anaesthesia of minipigs suggest otherwise.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316570
spellingShingle Sabrina Soares
Elisabeth Wühl
Alexander Schlund
Tobias Schneider
Kyra Sohns
Roman Rukwied
Martin Schmelz
Bettina Kränzlin
Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.
PLoS ONE
title Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.
title_full Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.
title_fullStr Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.
title_full_unstemmed Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.
title_short Tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research: Acepromazine vs. medetomidine in Aachen minipigs.
title_sort tailoring anaesthetic strategies for diabetes research acepromazine vs medetomidine in aachen minipigs
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316570
work_keys_str_mv AT sabrinasoares tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT elisabethwuhl tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT alexanderschlund tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT tobiasschneider tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT kyrasohns tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT romanrukwied tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT martinschmelz tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs
AT bettinakranzlin tailoringanaestheticstrategiesfordiabetesresearchacepromazinevsmedetomidineinaachenminipigs