November 12, 2021

DMM: Drs. Feldman and Eid Invited to Write Special Perspective for World Diabetes Day

To celebrate World Diabetes Day and 100 years of insulin, Disease Models & Mechanisms published an examination of current diet-induced rodent models of peripheral neuropathy, a severe complication of type 2 diabetes.

 

photo of Drs. Eva Feldman and Stephanie Eid working in the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies lab
Drs. Eva Feldman and Stephanie Eid

"It was such an honor to be asked by DMM to be a part of their World Diabetes Day coverage.  Dr. Feldman and I wrote this perspective to highlight the impressive array of experimental advantages that the diet-induced neuropathy models offer—how closely this model recapitulates the human disease, as well as the limitations and challenges that come in the translation from bench to bedside when using this model." (Rose C. and Nathan L. Milstein Family Emerging Scholar Dr. Stephanie Eid)

 

Disease Models & Mechanisms October 2021 Cover

PERSPECTIVE| 11 NOVEMBER 2021

Advances in diet-induced rodent models of metabolically acquired peripheral neuropathy

ABSTRACT

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a severe complication that affects over 30% of prediabetic and 60% of type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients. The metabolic syndrome is increasingly recognized as a major driver of PN. However, basic and translational research is needed to understand the mechanisms that contribute to nerve damage. Rodent models of diet-induced obesity, prediabetes, T2D and PN closely resemble the human disease and have proven to be instrumental for the study of PN mechanisms. In this Perspective article, we focus on the development, neurological characterization and dietary fat considerations of diet-induced rodent models of PN. We highlight the importance of investigating sex differences and discuss some of the challenges in translation from bench to bedside, including recapitulating the progressive nature of human PN and modeling neuropathic pain. We emphasize that future research should overcome these challenges in the quest to better mimic human PN in animal models.

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