The rat provides a useful experimental model to study of the mechanisms of kidney aging.
As in man, a wide diversity in the renal response to aging occurs in the rat, and because of
this variability it is important to always specify experimental conditions, ie, strain, gender,
diet, and environment. Most aging rats display chronic progressive nephrosis, although the
rate at which injury develops is highly variable. There are a number of known risk factors that
potentiate injury, including male gender, genetic background, obesity, high protein/high …