Cold Exposure Exacerbates the Development of Diabetic Polyneuropathy in the Rat
Figure 2
Tail and sciatic-tibial nerve conduction velocities. Graphs of sensory and motor nerve conduction velocities at 20 weeks show differences among the treatment groups (control room temperature , control cold , diabetic room temperature , diabetic cold ). (a) Diabetic animals (both room temperature and cold) had a significant decrease in tail sensory nerve conduction velocity as compared to nondiabetic control animals in both the room temperature and cold exposed groups. (b) Diabetic animals (both room temperature and cold) had a significant decrease in tail motor nerve conduction velocity as compared to nondiabetic control animals in both the room temperature and cold exposed groups. Additionally, diabetic animals exposed to a cold environment had a modest but significant reduction in conduction velocity compared the diabetic animals not exposed to cold. (c) Diabetic animals (both room temperature and cold) had a significant decrease in sciatic-tibial motor nerve conduction velocity compared to nondiabetic control animals in both the room temperature and cold exposed groups. Mean ± SEM. versus nondiabetic control animals, versus nondiabetic control animals, versus control room temperature and control cold exposed animals.
