Table 2.
Cellular distribution of autophagy structures in sural nerves of subjects with NGT, IGT, and T2DM at baseline and follow‐up
| NGT % | NGT % | IGT % | T2DM % | T2DM % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline n = 7 | Follow‐up n = 3 | Baseline n = 10 | Baseline n = 9 | Follow‐up n = 9 | |
| Schwann cells | 20 | 54 | 24 | 24 | 62 |
| Myelinated axons | 50 | 14 | 29 | 27 |
0.1 p = .008a |
| Unmyelinated axons | 27 | 30 | 45 | 47 | 22 |
| Other cells | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| Lysosomes | 42 | 66 | 33 | 29 | 70 |
NGT, normal glucose tolerance; IGT, impaired glucose tolerance; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; other cells, fibroblasts and endothelial cells.
a Versus baseline. At follow‐up, three NGT subjects remained NGT. One subject with NGT and six subjects with IGT who had converted to T2DM as well as three of the patients with T2DM at baseline were recruited for the follow‐up study. At baseline, identification of autophagy structures was not performed in three NGT and one subject with T2DM due to poor morphology of organelles and structures because of inadequate fixation for electron microscopy.