Nerve electrophysiological changes in rats with early induced diabetes

In rats with diabetes induced at weaning, pathological examinations have shown that the reduction of myelin thickness occurs earlier than axon size reduction. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of neurophysiological changes during nerve growth and maturation in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes in prepubertal stage. Five-day male Wistar rats received an injection of streptozotocin. Motor and sensory conduction velocities increased until 6.5 months in diabetic and control rats and at this age it became lower in diabetic rats. In diabetic rats, the amplitudes of the compound motor action potentials (CMAP) were lower by the 3 months and did not increase later. The amplitudes and areas of sensory action potentials (SNAP) increased until 9 months in both groups. SNAP duration decreased with ageing. Sensory peak 1 and peak 2 latencies became longer from 6.5 to 9 months in diabetic rats, with a longer latency difference between the 2 sensory peaks by 4 months. At 3 and 4 months of age, peak 1 and peak 2 latencies correlated with SNAP amplitude and duration in control rats but not in diabetic rats. In conclusion, in rats with early induced diabetes, the earliest electrophysiological impairments consist of lower CMAP amplitudes, and longer difference between latencies of sensory peaks 1 and 2. These sequential neurophysiological changes should be considered when testing new therapeutic approaches in diabetic neuropathy.