FEATURES OF SKIN MICROCIRCULATION IN RATS OF DIFFERENT SEX AND AGE

Purpose. Investigate the parameters of skin microcirculation of rats of different sex and age by laser Doppler flowmetry. Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 60 mongrel rats of both sexes weighing 120-270 g. The first group included 20 rats aged 1 month, the second – 20 rats aged 6-12 months and the third – 20 rats aged more than 18-24 months. Microcirculation was studied using a laser Doppler flowmeter with zoletil-xylazine anesthesia on the skin of the anterior abdominal wall. Statistical analysis was performed using the application package Statistica 13.0 (StatSoft, USA). Results. The microcirculation index was slightly higher in males than in females rats in the skin of the animals’ abdomen. In the 1st age group, this difference was 8.96% (R=-0.27), in the 2nd - 4.19% (R=0.09), in the 3rd – 0.62% (R=-0.13). The myogenic tone index was consistently lower in males than in females – by 59.73% in 1st (R=0.12), by 9.86% in 2nd (R=0.20) and by 8.84% (R=0.46) in the 3rd age group. The microcirculation index was decreased by 11.15% (R=0.75) between 1st and 2nd age groups, by 39.04% (R=0.29) between 1st and 3rd age groups. The index ϭ (variable component of the microcirculation index) was increased in animals of the 2nd and 3rd groups. It indicated the preservation of the mechanisms of modulation of cutaneous blood flow in aged animals. Conclusion. There was no statistically significant dependence of the microcirculation index in the skin of the abdomen on the sex of the animals. The basic parameters of microcirculation and the amplitude-frequency spectrum were decreased in aged animals.