Hotta N, Koh N, Sakakibara F, Nakamura J, Hamada Y, Wakao T, Hara T, Mori K, Naruse K, Nakashima W
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Prostaglandins. 1995 Jun;49(6):339-49. doi: 10.1016/0090-6980(95)00066-j.
The effects of the prostacyclin analog beraprost sodium on motor nerve function and nerve blood-flow were examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Oral administration of beraprost sodium 0.1 mg/kg/day for 8 wks significantly (P < 0.001) improved caudal motor nerve conduction velocity and sciatic nerve blood-flow, both of which are impaired in diabetic rats. Beraprost sodium did not affect glucose, sorbitol, or fructose levels in the sciatic nerve. However, a decreased content of cyclic AMP in the sciatic nerve and higher level of thromboxane B2 in the thoracic aorta of diabetic rats, as compared with those in normal rats, were reversed by the treatment with beraprost sodium (P < 0.01). Results suggest that beraprost sodium may have value in treating diabetic neuropathy, mainly by improving endoneurial blood-flow.
