Feeding, activity, and body temperature following 6-hydroxydopamine lesions in diabetes (db/db) mice.

Reductions in central catecholamines produced by intraventricular injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) cause weight loss and decreased plasma glucose in diabetes (db/db) mice. The effects of this treatment were examined in short-term (64-day) and long-term (120-day) survival groups. Diabetes mice treated with 6-OHDA decreased food intake, lost weight, and maintained a lower weight than vehicle-treated controls until vehicle-treated animals began to enter the terminal stages of the syndrome, indicated by a loss of body weight. Diabetes mice given 6-OHDA lost weight despite reduced body temperatures and activity levels. Blood glucose levels were always lower in 6-OHDA than in ad lib fed vehicle-treated db/db mice. The 6-OHDA treatment also improved pancreatic islet granulation. Pair feeding vehicle-treated with 6-OHDA-treated db/db mice did not halt weight gain in the vehicle-treated group. However, measurement of carcass fat indicated similar losses in db/db-6-OHDA mice and vehicle-treated mice when the vehicle group was pair-fed with lean controls. Treatment with 6-OHDA produced long-term improvement in the diabetes syndrome, but the decreased body weight of the 6-OHDA-treated diabetes mice could not be completely accounted for by changes in food intake or measured indices of energy expenditure.