Motor nerve conduction velocity and nerve polyols in mice with short-term genetic or streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

This study examined the relation between sciatic motor nerve conduction velocity and sciatic nerve contents of sorbitol, fructose, and myo-inositol in diabetic mice. Two groups of spontaneously diabetic animals (age 12 to 14 weeks and age 20 weeks) were compared with age-matched controls. In another experiment 17-week-old nondiabetic mice (of the same strain) were administered streptozotocin to induce diabetes and were subject to similar measurements 3 weeks later; age-matched controls were studied concomitantly. The diabetic mice in all groups were hyperglycemic with elevated nerve glucose. Those made diabetic with streptozotocin also showed a weight loss during the 3 weeks of diabetes. However, none of the diabetic groups showed significant deficits of motor nerve conduction velocity or nerve myo-inositol content. No accumulations of sorbitol or fructose were found in the sciatic nerves of the mice with diabetes of either origin. The study concluded that these animals do not have sciatic nerve aldose reductase activity and are not subject to myo-inositol depletion or to motor nerve conduction velocity deficits in short-term diabetes.