<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>The Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT) rat, a newly
established animal model for diabetes mellitus, presents
nonobese type 2 diabetes with ocular complications. In the
present study, oral glucose tolerance tests and biochemical
and histopathological examinations were performed in female
SDT rats at 16 and/or 25 weeks of age, before the onset
of diabetes. At 25 weeks of age, glucose tolerance was significantly
impaired, and plasma immunoreactive insulin levels
at 120 min after glucose loading were significantly higher
(<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Body weight and fasting levels of plasma triglycerides
and nonesterified fatty acids were significantly higher
than those in control animals. Histopathologically, inflammatory
cell infiltration and fibrosis were observed in and
around the pancreatic islets. These results strongly suggest
that female SDT rats are useful as a model to investigate
impairment of glucose tolerance and hyperlipidemia prior
to the onset of diabetes.</p>
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Exp Diabesity Res. 2004; 5(4):253-256