Diabetic Neuropathy in Spontaneously Diabetic Torii Rat

To aid in the study of diabetes and its complications, many diabetic animal models have been reported. Although most diabetic patients suffer type 2 diabetes, studies using type 2 diabetic animal models have been carried out less frequently. Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT) rat, a non-obese type 2 diabetes model, shows neuropathies and severe ocular complications. Decreased nerve conduction velocity and thermal hypoalgesia were improved by insulin treatment, indicating that the peripheral neuropathies in SDT rats are caused by sustained hyperglycemia. Autonomic nerve dysfunctions such as decreased coefficients of variance of R-R intervals (CVR-R) in electrocardiogram, functional gastrointestinal disorders, and voiding dysfunction are also observed in SDT rats. Therefore, SDT rat is a useful diabetic animal model for studies of diabetic neuropathies in type 2 diabetes and development of new drugs and therapies for diabetic neuropathies.