Muscle vulnerability to ischemic damage is decreased in experimental diabetes mellitus

The severity of necrotic muscle and nerve lesions in the ischemic hind limbs of diabetic and nondiabetic rats was compared. Chronic limb ischemia was induced by repetitive, daily for up to 8 weeks, intraperitoneal injections of serotonin in rats with ligated right femoral artery. Light microscopic examination and lesion severity grading was performed on sections taken from several right hind limb muscles and the right tibial nerve. Overall, muscle was less damaged in diabetic than in nondiabetic rats. However, muscle was damaged more than nerve in all but diabetic rats with severe chronic ischemia. Muscle vulnerability to ischemic damage is decreased in diabetes, presumably due to abundance of glucose and other energy substrates which can be utilized during ischemia.