Effects of diabetes mellitus on myenteric neuronal density and sodium channel expression in the rat ileum.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) may lead to gastrointestinal motility disorders. Rodent models of DM indicate the presence of morpho-functional abnormalities of the enteric nervous system. Here, we evaluated whether experimental DM can cause changes in the excitatory cholinergic fibers, neuronal density, and voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav) expression in the myenteric plexus of the ileum.