Topical effects of nebivolol on wounds in diabetic rats

Recently, it has reported that nebivolol might be useful in the treatment of diabetes mellitus foot ulcers. The aim of this study was to examine treatment of the wounds in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with topical nebivolol.

Two 15 × 15 mm-sized wounds were created in 56 streptozotocin-induced rats. A total of 56 diabetic wounds were studied in eight groups (n=7). No treatment was administered to the first and second groups. The third and fourth groups consisted of diabetic rats that were administered 1:1 mixture of lanolin and vaseline for 7 and 14 days, respectively. Five percent nebivolol plus 1:1 mixture of lanolin and vaseline was administered to rats in the fifth and sixth groups for 7 and 14 days, respectively, and 10% nebivolol plus 1:1 mixture of lanolin and vaseline was administered to rats in the seventh and eighth groups for 7 and 14 days, respectively. On days 7 and 14, wound healing was observed, and the percent of wound healing was determined by measuring its size and histopathologic examination. The ratio was calculated by the formula, healing ratio (%)=100 ×(1-wound area/initial wound area). Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA with Tukey's HSD test and Mann-Whitney U test, using SPSS 15.0 software.

On days 7 and 14, rates of wound healing in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth groups were 57.42%, 89.16%, 60.80%, and 91.80%, respectively. Multiple comparison showed that rates of wound healing were significantly higher in rats administered 5% and 10% nebivolol than those in rats administered a mixture of lanolin and vaseline and in the untreated group (P<0.05).

Topical nebivolol therapy may be useful for wound healing in diabetic rats. Further studies are needed to support these data.