title: Essential fatty acid treatment--effects on nerve conduction, polyol pathway and axonal transport in streptozotocin diabetic rats.
abstract: This study was designed to examine the effect of dietary supplementation with essential fatty acids (evening primrose oil--5% weight:weight added to the diet) on acute neurophysiological and neurochemical defects in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Diabetic rats, which were not given evening primrose oil, showed highly significant elevations of nerve sorbitol and fructose combined with a depletion of nerve myo-inositol. In those animals there was also a 40% reduction (p less than 0.02) in the accumulation of axonally transported substance P-like immunoreactivity proximal to a 12 h sciatic nerve ligature together with reduced motor nerve conduction velocity (13% [p less than 0.001] and 20% [p less than 0.001] in two separate experiments). Treatment of other diabetic rats with evening primrose oil prevented completely the development of the motor nerve conduction velocity deficit without affecting sorbitol, fructose or myo-inositol levels or the deficit in axonal transport of substance P. In a second experiment, treatment of diabetic rats with evening primrose oil was associated with significant attenuation of the conduction velocity deficit, but not complete prevention.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
authors: D R
authors: DR
authors: Tomlinson
authors: J P
authors: JP
authors: Robinson
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Compton
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Keen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport / Q000187:drug effects*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005632:Fructose / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007294:Inositol / Q000378:metabolism*; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D031665:Oenothera biennis; D010938:Plant Oils; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012016:Reference Values; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000378:metabolism*; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid
chemical_list: D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D010938:Plant Oils; D005632:Fructose; C028498:evening primrose oil; D007294:Inositol; D013012:Sorbitol; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid; D005947:Glucose