Diabetic Neuropathy Abstract

Diabetic Neuropathy: The Effect of Diabetes on the Peripheral Nervous

System

Mackenzie Martin, Christopher Spears, Brandon Sowell and Valerie K. Haftel,

Ph.D., Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA 30314

Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of metabolism resulting from low levels of

hormone insulin or from resistance to insulin's effects. Inadequate levels of
insulin secretion cause rising blood sugar levels. Over 230 million people in
the world are affected by different types of diabetes (type I and type II). At
least 177 million of these people suffer from secondary complications.
Neuropathy is one such complication that can lead to numbness, tingling,
pain and weakness of hands and feet, and movement disorders. Our
research deals with the effects of diabetes on neurons involved in
movement, namely sensory afferents called proprioceptors. Previous data
from this lab showed changes in conduction and firing properties of these
neurons in rats diabetic for 3 wks (Benedict et al 2005), yet no change in
movement behavior (Adams et al SFN Abstract 2007). This study
investigates whether longer periods of diabetes would cause changes in rats’
ability to walk across a beam or grid. To do so, as in the above studies, rats
were injected with streptozotocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg, IP; a toxin that kills insulin-
producing cells in the pancreas). Rats were checked for diabetes measuring
blood and urine glucose, and the number of footslips measured when
walking across metal beams or a grid each week for 6 wks following
injection. Data show that the number of footslips increased as the number of
weeks with diabetes increased, with the number of footslips almost doubling
from week 3 (2 slips) to week 6 (5 slips). These data show that neuronal
changes take longer to be reflected in movement behavior. Future studies
will examine the anatomical make up of these neurons; in addition to other
neuronal functions associated with these motor behaviors. This research was
supported by NIH MBRS-SCORE grant number: 1s06GM067078-01A2.