5 - Sciatic Nerve Ultrastructure in Rats Malnourished by the Basic Regional Diet (BRD): Possible Involvement in an Autoimmune Disease

Poster Board Number: 5
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Co-authors:

Carlos Augusto Vasconcelos - Department of Nutrition/CCS, LNED and Department of Surgery - Federal University of Pernambuco - UFPE; Flávio Kreimer - Department of Nutrition/CCS, LNED and Department of Surgery - Federal University of Pernambuco - UFPE

Abstract Body : The most important environmental factor for the morpho-functional development of the living organism is a balanced nutrition that satisfies the organism's needs. Depending on the degree, malnutrition can cause irreversible changes, especially if it occurs during the critical period of development or greatest neural vulnerability. In the early periods of development of the central (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), the fundamental processes of increasing the number (hyperplasia) and size of cells (hypertrophy), as well as the coating of axons with myelin (myelination) occur to a large extent. Nevertheless, little is known about the influence of malnutrition on the PNS morphological alteration. We investigated the sciatic nerve morphology, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques, in rats with experimental malnutrition using the basic regional diet (BRD) developed by Dr. Naíde Teodósio (1990) taking the account the multideficient diet consumed by the population of the region of the south forest of Pernambuco state, Brazil. This diet contains 8% of proteins of vegetal origin, 0,8% of lipids, and 69% of carbohydrates. Two groups of animals were investigated: Control (N=8) and D42 (submitted to the DBR diet for 42 days of life; N=8). The results showed the demyelination of small myelinated fibers, the reactivity of Schwann cell nuclei, and the presence of phagocyte cells in the endoneurium. The sciatic nerve was chosen for the study because, in addition to being the largest nerve in humans as well as in rats, it is affected by several injuries, not only traumatic but also metabolic. The results of the present study are original and show important morphological alterations of the peripheral nerves due to malnutrition in early life.