About This Project

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What is the context of this research?

Diabetes is a condition characterized by hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels). One complication of diabetes is peripheral neuropathy (Porth, 2014). With peripheral neuropathy, peripheral (sensory) nerves (PNs) are damaged, and key symptoms are the loss of sensation (numbness), tingling, or pain, starting in the hands and feet, and later spreading to other areas.

Zebrafish are a good animal model for studies on diabetes as they process sugars like humans and they are easy to use for drug treatment testing. With zebrafish we can study the progression of PNs damage and potentially find ways to prevent, delay, or even reverse the nerve damage brought on by complications of hyperglycemia. My goal is to study the effects of hyperglycemia on the sensory nerves of zebrafish.

What is the significance of this project?

There is 382 million diabetic patients worldwide (IDF, 2013) and 50% will suffer from diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). DPN symptoms may at first seem a minor inconvenience, but the chronic pain or loss of sensation may lead to loss of coordination and reflexes, and inflammation of the feet, which can ultimately lead to diabetic foot ulcers.

DPN is a difficult condition to treat as diagnosis often late and there is many causes of the condition, all linked to hyperglycemia. Treatment is focused on prevention and mitigation of nerve damage progression and symptoms. Ultimately, the goal is to utilize this model for pharmacological screenings and drug development. So research might be done in overall concerns to the prevention, and the halting and potential reversal of nerve damage.

What are the goals of the project?

• Using a special strain of zebrafish, that have been genetically modified to develop diabetes when exposed to the chemical metronidazole, I will cause the test fish to develop diabetes.
• I will maintain them in a diabetic state with repeated exposure to the chemical to allow time for nerve damage to develop.
• I will regularly test their blood glucose levels to be certain that they are and remain diabetic.
• I will examine the tail fins of the fish, whose nerves will glow under certain lights, for signs of nerve damage. This will be easy to do as the fish will be a clear-skinned Casper variety.