Abstract
[Purpose] We aimed to evaluate the muscle blood perfusion by the uptake of the radioisotope thallium-201 (201Tl) in 5 hindlimb muscles, the soleus (Sol), plantaris (Pla), gastrocnemius (Gas), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and tibialis anterior (TA). [Subjects] The subjects were 36 male Wistar rats. [Methods] 201Tl uptake rates were calculated by spectrometry and visualized by autoradiography (ARG) in hindlimb unloading (U) and reloading (R) rats. [Results] The Sol 201Tl uptake rates were significantly lower in U groups (p<0.01) than in the control group. Meanwhile the reloading day-4 group had higher values in Sol than the control (p<0.01). In U groups, the EDL and TA uptake rates were higher than in the other 3 muscles (Sol, Pla, and Gas). [Conclusion] We concluded that during 21 days of hindlimb unloading and subsequent recovery by reloading, blood capillary perfusion assessed by 201Tl in hindlimb muscles changes in rats. The results confirm the utility of 201Tl in quantitative and qualitative evaluation of skeletal muscle activity and blood perfusion, which has applications in rehabilitation and sports science.
