title: Axonal atrophy in sensory nerves of the diabetic BB-Wistar rat: a possible early correlate of human diabetic neuropathy.
abstract: Clinical, morphological, and biochemical findings reported in the spontaneously diabetic BB-Wistar rat strongly indicate that this animal may be a true model of human insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. As such, it may provide a valuable model in which to study the neuropathic conditions of diabetes. We examined somatic peripheral nerves at five levels in a longitudinal fashion using quantitative morphological techniques. Myelinated fiber atrophy occurred earlier in sensory nerves than in motor nerves and showed a distal to proximal progression with duration of diabetes. Axon/myelin ratios revealed disproportionate shrinkage of axons evident already after 4 months of diabetes in the sural nerve and only after 8 months in the peroneal nerve. Endoneurial edema could not be demonstrated by morphometric means in diabetic nerves. We conclude that the distal symmetrical polyneuropathy in diabetes can be characterized as a mainly sensory axonopathy of dying-back type.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000473:pathology*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000473:pathology*; D010543:Peroneal Nerve / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats / Q000502:physiology*; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000473:pathology; D013497:Sural Nerve / Q000473:pathology; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000473:pathology