Diabetes, Vol 35, Issue 9 1058-1061, Copyright © 1986 by American Diabetes Association
Increased susceptibility to ischemic damage in streptozocin-diabetic nerve
H Nukada
Nerve ischemia, both acute and chronic, may contribute to diabetic
neuropathies, but the pathogenesis remains obscure. The vulnerability of
diabetic nerve to ischemia was assessed by ligating arteries of supply of
rat sciatic nerve after 20 wk of streptozocin-induced diabetes. In the
first 24 h after the arterial ligations, severe and more rapidly occurring
clinicopathological abnormalities were invariably seen in diabetic nerves,
but these findings were less severe in nondiabetic nerves. The results
imply that peripheral nerve in diabetes mellitus is more subject to
ischemia than normal nerve. This phenomenon may ensue from endoneurial
hypoxia and play an important role in the development of diabetic
neuropathies.