AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 271, Issue 3 E471-E476, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Interaction between oxidative stress and gamma-linolenic acid in impaired neurovascular function of diabetic rats

N. E. Cameron and M. A. Cotter
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Nerve conduction and perfusion deficits in diabetic rats depend on increased oxidative stress and impaired n-6 essential fatty acid metabolism, which are corrected by free radical scavenger and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)-rich oil treatments, respectively. We investigated the interaction between these mechanisms on conduction velocity and endoneurial blood flow by use of low-dose antioxidant (BM15.0639) and GLA treatments, alone and in combination. After 8 wk of streptozotocin-induced diabetes, sciatic motor conduction velocity was 20.9% reduced. Treatment with GLA or BM15.0639 for the final 2 wk corrected this deficit by 18.5 and 20.0%, respectively; however, joint treatment caused 71.5% improvement, corresponding to a 7.5-fold amplification of individual drug effects. A 48.3% deficit in sciatic nutritive endoneurial blood flow was corrected by 34.8 and 24.8% with GLA and BM15.0639 treatments, respectively. With joint treatment, the flow improvement of 72.5% was greater than expected from individual drug effects, indicating a facilitatory interaction. Thus the synergistic effect of combined antioxidant and n-6 essential fatty acid treatment could potentially provide increased therapeutic power against diabetic neuropathy.

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