Lumbar Sympathetic Ganglia in Atherosclerotic Patients, Diabetic and Nondiabetic

Abnormal innervation of lower limb epineurial arterioles in human diabetes

“…Degenerative lesions of peripheral nerves occur frequently in diabetics [37] and are also sometimes seen in nondiabetics [12] with peripheral vascular disease. Previous morphological studies have shown that in diabetic peripheral nerves the basal lamina of the vasa nervorum are frequently extemely replicated and the vessel walls may be thickened, in some cases resulting in complete occulsion [5,17,21,29,36,39]. Similar pathological findings have been reported in the vasa nervorum of non-diabetics with peripheral vascular disease, but these abnormalities are less frequent and less severe [8,15].…”

Peripheral motor nerve function in diabetic autonomic neuropathy.

“…Histological studies of autonomic nerves in diabetics are limited, but widespread changes have been noted in the sympathetic chain and ganglia in patients dying from various complications (Appenzeller and Richardson, 1966;Olsson and Sourander, 1968). Damage has also been noted to the autonomic fibres supplying the bladder wall (Faerman et al, 1973); the corpora cavernosa (Faerman et al, 1974), the innervation of the oesophagus (Smith, 1974), the greater splanchnic nerves (Low et al, 1975), and the lumbar sympathetic ganglia (Kott et al, 1974).…”

Neuritic dystrophy and neuronopathy in Akita (Ins2Akita) diabetic mouse sympathetic ganglia

“…Early studies of sympathetic ganglia in diabetic patients reported enlargement of neurons including giant or vacuolated forms (Hopfner et al, 1971; Appenzeller and Richardson, 1966; Budzilovich, 1970; Kott et al, 1974), although some apparent perikaryal enlargement may have been complicated by the presence of granular dystrophic terminals (Schmidt, 1996) previously interpreted as part of the neuronal perikaryon. Our early human studies demonstrated a small (~14%) decrease in neuronal density (Schmidt et al, 1993) in the prevertebral sympathetic ganglia of diabetic patients.…”