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Comparable myelinated nerve pathology in feline and human diabetes mellitus

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Abstract

The occurrence of diabetic neuropathy in cats provides an opportunity to study the development and treatment of neurological complications not present in diabetic rodent models, where few pathological alterations are evident. The present study further defines pathological alterations in nerve biopsies from 12 cats with spontaneously occurring diabetes mellitus. Peroneal nerve biopsies displayed concurrent injury to both Schwann cells and axons of myelinated fibers that was remarkably similar to that present in human diabetic neuropathy. In addition to demyelination, remyelination (constituting 20–84% of the total myelinated fiber population) was indicated by fibers with inappropriately thin myelin sheaths. Unlike our previous investigations, striking axonal injury was apparent, and consisted of dystrophic accumulations of membranous debris or neurofilaments, as well as degenerative fiber loss resulting in a 50% decrease in myelinated fiber density. In spite of extensive fiber loss, regenerative clusters were apparent, suggesting that axonal regeneration was not completely frustrated. These data highlight the potential utility of feline diabetic neuropathy as a model that faithfully replicates the nerve injury in human diabetes mellitus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the many veterinarians that referred cats used in this study to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, University of California, Davis, and the cat owners for participating in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093-0612, USA

    Andrew P. Mizisin, Monica L. Burgers & G. Diane Shelton

  2. School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Richard W. Nelson, B. K. Sturges, Karen M. Vernau, Richard A. LeCouteur & D. Colette Williams

Authors
  1. Andrew P. Mizisin
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  2. Richard W. Nelson
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  5. Richard A. LeCouteur
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  6. D. Colette Williams
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  7. Monica L. Burgers
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  8. G. Diane Shelton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew P. Mizisin.

Additional information

This work was conducted with the support of grants from Blue Ridge Pharmaceuticals (currently a subsidiary of IDEXX, Inc.), Greensboro, NC, USA, the Center for Companion Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and NIH grant DK078374.

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Mizisin, A.P., Nelson, R.W., Sturges, B.K. et al. Comparable myelinated nerve pathology in feline and human diabetes mellitus. Acta Neuropathol 113, 431–442 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-006-0163-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-006-0163-8

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