Abstract
We electrophysiologically examined the effect of the PGI2 analogue, Beraprost sodium (BPS), on neuropathy in spontaneously diabetic WBN/Kob rats, Diabetic male WIIN/Kob rats, aged 43 to 45 weeks, were randomly divided into BPS-treated (n=7) and untreated (n=6) groups. BPS was orally administered at a dose of 30μg/kg every day, while untreated rats were given distilled water, for 16 weeks. Motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) of the tail nerve and the coefficient of variation (CV) of pulse intervals of the tail artery, as indicators of parasympathetic nerve function, were determined before and after treatment. After the 16 week treatment period, the sciatic nerve blood flow (NBF) was measured by laser doppler flowmetry. At the end of treatment, the CV of pulse intervals of the tail artery in the BPS treated group was significantly increased in comparison with that in the untreated group, while there was no significant difference in MNCV between the two groups. In addition, NBF in the BPS-treated group was increased in comparison with that in the untreated group.
In conclusion, these results suggest that BPS treatment might be useful not only for peripheral neuropathy but also for autonomic neuropathy.
