Abstract

The present investigation involves the study of the effects chronic treatment with oral nitrendipine (15mg/kg/day) in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Single tail vein injection of STZ (45 mg/kg) produced a diabetic state exhibiting all the cardinal symptoms such as loss of body weight, polyuria, polydipsia, glucosuria, hypoinsulinemia, and hyperglycemia. The diabetic state was also found to be associated with hypothyroidism hypercholesterolemia, bradycardia, hypertension, cardiac depression and cardiomyopathy. Nitrendipine treatment prevented the hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and bradycardia observed in untreated STZ-diabetic rats. It could not prevent however, loss of body weight, hyperglycemia, hypoinsulinemia and hypothyroidism. The cardiac depression and cardiomyopathy were found to be partially prevented by nitrendipine. These data suggests that nitrendipine has certain beneficial effects in diabetic rats.