Peripheral neuropathy is a complication of diabetes commonly associated with pain and decline in motor compound action potential, leading to alterations in plantar pressure during gait. We identified motor impairments in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic neuropathic rats and correlated with mechanical withdrawal thresholds, establishing this correlation as a complementary method to investigate the development of chronic hyperalgesia in diabetic neuropathy.

Methods

UNICAMP’s Ethics Committee (protocol number 3902-1) approved all experiments. Male Lewis rats (200-250 g) received a STZ-low-dose (25 mg/kg/day) (STZ group) or 0.1 M sodium citrate buffer (SCB, control group) once a day, during five consecutive days. Diabetic rats (250 mg/dL blood glucose) were submitted to electronic von Frey and CatWalk tests at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after treatment.

Results

STZ, but not SCB, induced diabetes. After the 14^th day (STZ)-induced diabetic rats showed mechanical hyperalgesia and a reduction in the hind limbs footprint intensities. At the 28^th day, rats presented alterations in spatial parameters (Maximum Contact Area; Stride Length; Print Area), which showed a strong correlation with mechanical withdrawal thresholds (r² = 0.97; 0.99, and 0.93, respectively).

Conclusions

Correlation between gait parameters and mechanical withdrawal thresholds enables a better experimental approach to evaluate the development of chronic hyperalgesia in the STZ-induced diabetes model. It allows a concise crosstalk of motor and sensorial functions, which are usually analyzed individually. CatWalk gait parameters can be used as a complementary tool to investigate the development of hyperalgesia in STZ-induced diabetic neuropathic rats.

中文翻译：

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步态分析与链脲佐菌素诱发的糖尿病性神经病模型中的机械性痛觉过敏相关：一项CatWalk动态运动功能研究。

周围神经病变是糖尿病的并发症，通常与疼痛和运动复合动作电位下降相关，导致步态时脚底压力发生变化。我们在链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的糖尿病性神经病大鼠中发现了运动障碍，并与机械性戒断阈值相关，建立了这种相关性，作为研究糖尿病性神经病中慢性痛觉过敏的一种补充方法。

方法

UNICAMP的道德委员会（协议编号3902-1）批准了所有实验。雄性Lewis大鼠（200-250 g）连续五天每天接受一次STZ低剂量（25 mg / kg /天）（STZ组）或0.1 M柠檬酸钠缓冲液（SCB，对照组）。糖尿病大鼠（血糖为250 mg / dL）在治疗后0、7、14、21和28天接受电子von Frey和CatWalk测试。

结果

STZ而非SCB诱发糖尿病。14后^第天（STZ）诱导的糖尿病大鼠显示机械性痛觉过敏和后肢足迹强度的降低。在28^个（R天，将大鼠在呈现空间参数的改变（最大接触面积;步长打印区域），这表明与机械收回阈值的强相关性²  ; 0.99，和0.93 = 0.97）。

结论

步态参数和机械性戒断阈值之间的相关性使更好的实验方法能够评估STZ诱导的糖尿病模型中慢性痛觉过敏的发展。它允许对电机和感官功能进行简明的串扰，这些串扰通常会单独进行分析。CatWalk步态参数可以用作研究STZ诱导的糖尿病性神经病大鼠痛觉过敏的补充工具。