Scintigraphic evaluation of small intestinal transit in the streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

Aim: Small intestine (SI) transit in the streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats were examined by using 99mTc-mebrofenin scintigraphy. Materials and methods: Wistar albino rats (mean body weight: 220 +/- 12 g) were studied for both control (n=10) and diabetes mellitus (DM) (n=10) groups. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (50 mg kg(-1) body weight. SI transit time was assessed by measuring arrival times of 99mTc-mebrofenin from duodenum to caecum. Results: The mean transit time of 99mTc-mebrofenin was 67.8 +/- 11 min in control group. The mean transit time of SI was prolonged in STZ induced diabetic animals with (111.9 +/- 12.5, p=0.01). There was significant correlation between small intestinal transit time and blood glucose level (r: 0.73, p=0.01). Conclusion: We observed that SI transit was prolonged in diabetic animals using 99mTc-mebrofenin, and additionally this technique is a readily available method for the detection of transit abnormalities in animal experiment. Hippokratia 2011; 15 (3): 262-264