Diabetic neuropathies

Overview

Diabetes and its associated complications have become a public health problem of considerable magnitude.

Our research group has demonstrated that there are profound alterations in the spontaneous and evoked contractile responsiveness of visceral tissues ie ileum, colon, bladder, taken from diabetic animals and these alterations may underlie the diarrhoea, constipation and cystopathy chronic complications seen in diabetic patients.

Peripheral neuropathy could be causative to the complications. Approximately 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage, peripheral neuropathy is the major complication (American Diabetes Association, 2007).

In order to treat painful neuropathy and other diabetic complications it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of novel efficacious treatments.  

Our research uses a streptozotocin–induced model of type 1 diabetes in the rat which is a widely accepted model of human disease. Both in vitro and in vivo techniques are employed to investigate mechanisms underlying functional changes in pharmacological targets in diabetes.  

The two main strands of diabetes research involve:  

• basic mechanisms (eg modulation of TRPV1 channel function, mechanism of action of gabapentinoid drugs)
• possible therapeutic applications (eg effects of imidazoline and antidiabetic drugs in cardiomyopathy, evaluating novel nano-size polymeric drug delivery systems)  

Current projects   

• modulation of TRPV1 function in diabetes
• mechanism of action of gabapentinoid and opioid drugs in painful diabetic neuropathy 
• evaluating novel nano-size polymeric drug delivery systems for the oral delivery of insulin and other therapeutic peptides in vivo in a diabetic rat model.
• antidiabetic drugs and their relationship to imidazoline and mivazerol receptors in diabetic vascular function
• evaluating the antioxidative potential of bioactive components of medicinal plants in diabetes  

Future projects  

Characterisation of a type 2 model of diabetes (phenotypic and transcriptomic profiling)  

Collaborations

• Dr Woei Ping Cheng, Department of Pharmacy, University of Hertfordshire
• Prof David Nutt, Imperial College, London