SCN9A and diabetes mellitus: In rats with streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes and painful neuropathy, an increase in the alpha (pore-forming) subunit of voltage gated sodium channel isoform 1.7 (NaV1.7) in primary sensory afferent neurons of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) has been reported [2], a change that correlates with increased amplitude and negative shift of the activation of tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive current in those neurons.