Bilateral Nephrectomy in Rats: Blood Chemistry, Longevity and the Effect of Aluminum Hydroxide

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Abstract
This study was initiated in order to observe the effect of aluminum hydroxide gel on the survival time and on the blood levels of sulphates, phosphates, Ca, urea and cholesterol in rats following bilateral nephrectomy. Fifty-one rats were employed in the longevity study of which 26 served as controls and 25 as exptl. animals. Bilateral nephrectomy was performed under ether anesthesia. Each of the animals in the exptl. group was given 5 ml. of 4%, aluminum hydroxide gel by stomach tube once daily for 2 days prior to nephrectomy, then 4-6 hrs. after surgery, and thereafter once every 24 hrs. until the animals expired. In the study of variations in blood chemistry, 28 non-nephrectomized o rats were used as controls while 17 [male] rats were nephrec-tomized and 48-50 hrs. postoperatively blood was withdrawn . In each of these groups, blood samples were obtained from the abdominal aorta. In addition, 11 [male] rats were ne-phrectomized and given aluminum hydroxide by stomach tube. The longevity of the bilateral nephrectomized rat was 3-4 days. The oral admn. of aluminum hydroxide increased the survival time of 20% of nephrectomized rats to 5 or 6 days. Bilateral nephrectomy resulted in a marked elevation of urea N and inorganic sulphate in the blood, whereas the retention of inorganic phosphate, Ca, and cholesterol was insignificant. The oral admn. of aluminum hydroxide in the bilateral nephrectomized rat produced a slight decrease in the degree of retention of each of the various blood constituents studied.

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