Depot Fat Depletion Following Thermal Trauma

Abstract

The effects of moderate to lethal thermal injury by water scalding on the degree of peripheral body fat depletion in the rat were studied by the direct measurement of changes in the fatty acid content of a characteristic depot. Following a nonlethal burn, loss of fat and body weight was consistently less than in pair-fed controls for about 1 week. Later phases of this postburn period indicate that the normal capacity to deposit fat is not restored in burned rats during the interval when pair-fed mates reach control levels. In a lethal burn, fat depletion is rapid and extensive despite a normal intake of food that permits pair-fed controls to resume normal lipid economy.