Galactose neuropathy: impact of chronic endoneurial edema on nerve blood flow

Peripheral neuropathy induced by galactose feeding results in endoneurial edema with increased tissue pressure and ultimate demyelination of nerve fibers. To assess the role of ischemia in the pathogenesis of this neuropathy, nerve blood flow was measured 6 months after the start of galactose ingestion, between the onset of edema and nerve fiber changes. Measurement was carried out by a noninvasive technique involving the use of [14C]iodoantipyrine as a radioactive tracer of tissue perfusion. A significant decline in nerve blood flow was found, which correlated positively with increased nerve water content as quantified by a microgravimetric technique. We sought to establish the pathogenic role of nerve edema in the development of schwannopathy and demyelination by morphological examination. It was found that Schwann cells appeared normal in areas of the peripheral nervous system in which edema does not occur, such as spinal ganglia and roots, whereas in regions in which there was edema, massive glycogen accumulation in Schwann cells and demyelination occurred. These findings suggest that edema, rather than hyperactivity in the sorbitol pathway, is responsible for the pathological changes in galactosemic neuropathy and that ischemia resulting from edema and increased endoneurial fluid pressure is the mechanism responsible for fiber injury.