Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

Experimental Purpose

The purpose of the Variables in Glucose Tolerance lab was to examine the changes in blood sugar during glucose tolerance test conducted with test rats. We will be using three rats and perform the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test to measure the glucose levels in the rats blood. The oral glucose tolerance test is a laboratory method to check how the body breaks down (metabolizes) blood sugar. Glucose is the sugar that the body uses for energy. Patients with untreated diabetes have high blood glucose levels. Glucose tolerance tests are one of the tools used to diagnose diabetes. (Hypothysis)

Materials ad Methods

The independent project is a group project in which the class in split into groups of 4-5. My group consisted of James, Jaime, Omar, Kirk, and Myself. We selected our two drugs which were Glyberide and Insulin. We discussed who would be doing what on the day of the project and how we would manage our time. I had to record all of the data that we received form our experiment and observe the behavior patterns that rats displayed inside their plastic restraint. Omar was responsible for researching the affects of glucose; James was responsible for researching the affects of insulin, and Kirk and Jamie were responsible for researching the affects of glyberide.

The materials that were used in the independent project were 3 male rats, one touch glucometer and strips, gloves, syringes, scissors, orange marker, plastic rat restraint, and a stop watch to conduct our project. We selected three rats and marked their tails with orange sharpie in order to differentiate between the rats when we conduct the actual project. We weighted each of the rats to ensure we give accurate amounts of each drug. Previous to selecting the rats, the food was removed form his cage for approximately 24 hours so the rats could undergo a fasting cycle. The three drugs we used were Glucose, Insulin, and Glyberide. When determining how much of each drug to inject into the rats, we consulted our lab manual, the independent project handout, and Dr. Ezzeddine in order to ensure the correct amount injected into the lab rats. To determine the glucose dosage, the equation is Weight of rat/100g. This means that rat one was given 1.78 ml of 15% glucose solution, rat 2 was given 1.93 ml, and rat three was given 1.85 ml. Rat 1 is the control rat so he will be injected with glucose only. Rat 2 will be given both insulin and glucose solutions. The insulin amount is usually determined by equation, weight of animals x 0.1/100g but we were instructed by Dr. Ezzeddine to give the rat 0.1 ml of insulin. Rat 3 was given both a glucose solution and a glyburide solution. Their was no standard equation given to determine the amount of glyburinde given, but we were informed by Dr. Ezzeddine to give 0.5 ml. Our control rat (rat 1) will show how glucose affects the sugar levels in the blood naturally and the remaining drug can be used to determine a curve. Prior to all injections, the three rats will be cut with scissors at the very tip of their tails in order to obtain a blood sample. The blood from the rats will be used to measure the basal glucose levels with the one touch glucometer. It will be used as a base so we could view the increase or decrease due the injection of the drugs. To ensure accurate results, we should discard the blood behind the clot and get the next drop after it. While we are recording the basal levels of all three rats, Omar and James begin to drawing the amount of drugs we determined for rats 1, 2, and 3. Once everything is set, Jamie and Kirk start injecting the drugs into the rats intraperitoneally. While we are injecting the solutions, we are recording the time so we could measure their glucose levels every thirty minutes for 180 minutes. When they rats have been injected, we place them back into the plastic constraint and I observe their behavior patterns. When we determine the dosage for the rats, Dr. Ezzeddine established a measurement of 50 ml/dl on the one touch glucometer in which the group will inject more glucose intraperitoneally to increase the blood glucose levels.

Results

Time Rat