Treatment with NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin alleviates diabetic neuropathic pain in rats

This research investigates the potential of apocynin, a NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibitor, to protect against diabetic neuropathy in rats. Diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes that causes pain, hyperalgesia, and allodynia. The study found that apocynin treatment increased pain threshold and reversed histopathological changes in the sciatic nerve of diabetic rats. It also prevented the increase in catalase expression at 100 mg/kg/day and NOXp47 expression at either doses. These findings suggest that apocynin attenuates neuropathic pain by reducing oxidative stress-mediated pathogenesis in diabetic rats. The study concludes that NOX activation could be a potential therapeutic target for diabetic neuropathy.

• 1
  Streptozotocin injection reduced pain threshold in analgesimeter, but not in aesthesiometer, in rat models. Apocynin treatment increased pain threshold dose-dependently.
• 2
  Western blot analysis showed an increase in catalase and NOX-p47phox protein expression in the spinal cord of diabetic rats. Apocynin treatment decreased NOX-p47phox expression at both doses and catalase expression at 100 mg/kg per day.
• 3
  Histochemistry of diabetic sciatic nerve revealed marked degeneration. nNOS and iNOS immunoreactivities were increased, while S-100 immunoreactivity (Schwann cell marker) was decreased in sciatic nerve. Apocynin treatment reversed these changes dose-dependently.