Work

Acute nicotine withdrawal blunts the hypoxic ventilatory response in young adult female rats

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Nicotine is the highly addictive component of tobacco, and nicotine withdrawal is often observed in hospitalized smokers and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Here, we show that a blunted HVR is a previously unidentified, and sex-specific consequence of nicotine withdrawal, suggesting that female patients in nicotine withdrawal may experience relatively more severe oxygen desaturation for a given hypoxic episode, which could lead to end-organ damage or failure, especially in the brain and heart.

Source: Journal of Applied Physiology

DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00333.2025

Authors: Megan Fale, Emily G. Flanigan, Alex Agnello, Lila Buls Wollman

Institutions: University of Arizona, University of Oregon

Language: English

Topic: Neuroscience of respiration and sleep

Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Arizona Biomedical Research Commission, National Institutes of Health