The relationship between hypertension and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) has recently been reported in clinical research, but it remains unclear whether hypertension is a risk factor for DPN. To investigate the effects of hypertension on DPN, we analyzed morphological features of peripheral nerves in diabetic rats with hypertension. Male WBN/Kob rats were divided into 2 groups: alloxan-induced diabetic rats with deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt (DOCA-salt) treatment (ADN group) and nondiabetic rats with DOCA-salt treatment (DN group). Sciatic, tibial (motor) and sural (sensory) nerves were subjected to qualitative and quantitative histomorphological analysis. Systolic blood pressure in the two groups exhibited a higher value (>140 mmHg), but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Endoneurial blood vessels in both groups presented endothelial hypertrophy and narrowing of the vascular lumen. Electron microscopically, duplication of basal lamina surrounding the endothelium and pericyte of the endoneurial vessels was observed, and this lesion appeared to be more frequent and severe in the ADN group than the DN group. Many nerve fibers of the ADN and DN groups showed an almost normal appearance, whereas morphometrical analysis of the tibial nerve showed a significant shift to smaller fiber and myelin sizes in the ADN group compared with DN group. In sural nerve, the fiber and axon-size significantly shifted to a smaller size in ADN group compared with the DN group. These results suggest that combined diabetes and hypertension could induce mild peripheral nerve lesions with vascular changes.

Cypermethrin residues in apples were evaluated to consider individual variations from sample-to-sample, eld-toeld, and edible-to-inedible portions. e VF (variability factor) values obtained from the 97.5th percentile and the mean pesticide residue levels of 130 individual apple samples were 1.76 and 1.75, respectively, and the highest residue level was approximately 10 times the lowest one. e results suggest that, in order to obtain reliable values of pesticide residue levels, a su cient number of samples is essential. Regarding eld-to-eld variability, the highest mean residue level from 8 orchards was approximately 2.3 times that of the lowest. e pesticide residue level determined for an entire fruit was slightly higher than that for the edible portions, and there was no signi cant statistical di erence between the two.

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