Vitamin E supplementation in rats with experimental diabetes mellitus: analysis of myosin-V and nNOS immunoreactive myenteric neurons from terminal ileum

The effect of vitamin E (1 g/kg body weight) supplementation on myosin-V and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) immunoreactive myenteric neurons from the ileum of diabetic rats was investigated in the present study. Forty animals were divided into the following groups: normoglycemics (N), normoglycemics treated with vitamin E (NE), diabetics (D), and diabetics treated with vitamin E (DE). Quantitative and morphometric analyses were performed. The area of the tertiary plexus was also determined. Diabetes produced a 24% reduction in the number of myosin-V neurons in group D compared with group N, an effect that was accompanied by an increase in the tertiary plexus area ( P