CORRECTION OF ERYTHROCYTE DEFORMABILITY DEFECT IN ALX-INDUCED DIABETIC RABBITS AFTER TREATMENT WITH AMINOGUANIDINE

To test whether treatment with aminoguanidine, a drug known to prevent cross-linking between glycated proteins, is effective in improving reduced erythrocyte deformability in diabetes, we studied a group (n = 6) of ALX-induced long-term (12.7 +/- 2.2 mo of hyperglycemia) diabetic New Zealand white rabbits before and after 20 wk of treatment with aminoguanidine (1 00 mg . kg-1 . day-1). The key findings were as follows: 1) at 12 wk of treatment with aminoguanidine, mean erythrocyte deformability normalized and remained within the normal reference range throughout the period of aminoguanidine administration; 2) 10 wk after discontinuing aminoguanidine in a subset of diabetic rabbits, mean erythrocyte deformability deteriorated by approximately 50%; 3) blood glucose and total GHb did not vary significantly during treatment with aminoguanidine nor after its discontinuation.