[Experimental diabetic neuropathy. Morphometric studies of spinal ganglia cells in short-term streptozotocin-induced diabetes].

Ganglion cells of both the left and right dorsal root ganglia L5 were investigated morphometrically in 8 diabetic rats 35 or 44 d after the administration of streptozotocin, as well as in 8 controls. The quantitative study included the analysis of mean neuron volume, maximal cell diameter, cell number per volume, by cell size class and the analysis of histograms. There were no changes in cell size. Whereas in experimental short-term diabetes the peripheral nerves demonstrate morphologic changes correlating to the biochemical abnormalities (reduced amino-acid uptake, decreased activity of Na+, K+-ATPase) no such correlations can be observed in the perikarya.