Ganglioside treatment of vincristine-induced neuropathy. An electrophysiologic study.

A 5-week treatment with vincristine (0.20 or 0.25 mg/kg, i.v., once/week) in the rabbit produced a peripheral neuropathy characterized by both morphologic and electrophysiologic alterations. In particular, electrophysiologic recordings demonstrated that the amplitude, area and conduction velocity of compound action potential (CAP) were consistently reduced in a dose-dependent manner. The simultaneous daily administration of 50 mg/kg ganglioside mixture counteracted significantly this functional impairment, area and amplitude of the monophasic CAP being maintained closer to control values. These results suggest that the loss of functional nerve fibers can be reduced, in vincristine-induced neuropathy, by ganglioside treatment.