Experimental work from our laboratory has confirmed the protective power of
vanadium compounds on
hyperglycemia and
glycosuria in
streptozotocin (STZ) diabetes. Furthermore, the diabetic
cataract too has been partially prevented. The protection slightly increased, when
vanadium was administered in combination with
vitamin E. This investigation has introduced a combination of Na3VO4 plus the lazaroid
U-83836E, a liposoluble
antioxidant much more efficacious than
tocopherol, in order to improve the insufficient protection when
vitamin E was used. Male Wistar rats, rendered diabetic with STZ, were treated for 12 weeks with Na3VO4 in
drinking water,
U-83836E carried by the food, or both. The most significant metabolic parameters (food and fluid intake, diuresis and excreted feces) were studied monthly by means of metabolic cages.
Body weight, glycemia,
glycosuria and
proteinuria were also recorded. At week 6 and 12 of the treatment, the opaqueness of the eye
lenses was controlled. Circulation
glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c),
fructosamine,
N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and fluorescent
peroxides were evaluated at the end of the experiment. After the first month of treatment
U-83836E improved significantly the protective effect of
vanadate alone on
polydipsia and
polyuria, but more efficiently on
hyperglycemia and
glycosuria. The further ameliorating effect of the lazaroid was observed also on HbA1c, NAG and, most important, on the
cataract. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that the lazaroid
U-83836E succeeds in further protecting the most important symptoms of diabetes treated with
vanadate, and that this
antioxidant acts effectively even when it is administered per os, in a non invasive manner.