Anaesthesia and changes in parameters that reflect glucose metabolism in pigs – a pilot study

Pigs are commonly used in diabetes research due to their many physiological similarities to humans. They are especially useful in imaging procedures because of their large size. However, to achieve imaging procedures the pig must lie completely still, and thus needs to be anaesthetized. Most anaesthetic drugs used in laboratory animals affect carbohydrate metabolism by the inhibition of insulin release. The aim of this pilot study was primarily...