Up to 50% of the 37 million Americans with diabetes may develop painful and incapacitating diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage.
While some drugs can lessen pain, researchers are still looking for the causes of diabetic neuropathy in order to find ways to lessen the likelihood of harmful symptoms.
According to a study conducted at Michigan Medicine, several lipid biomarkers are connected to the onset of neuropathy in people with type 2 diabetes.
Nearly 70 members of the Gila River Indian community with type 2 diabetes who were tested for neuropathy ten years later had serum samples examined. They examined 435 distinct lipid species, which are organic substances made up of fats and oils.
According to findings reported in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, individuals with high levels of diabetic neuropathy experienced lipid changes that indicated impaired energy metabolism.
As the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology and the director of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies at Michigan Medicine, senior author Eva L. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., said, “We have the potential to test for these lipid biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes to identify those with the highest risk of developing peripheral neuropathy and facilitate more focused management of those patients.”
Researchers discovered a pattern in blood lipid profiles 10 years before a person developed neuropathy that showed signaling dysfunction in a crucial pathway called b-oxidation, despite differences between participants with and without neuropathy in their basic lipid profiles. When this pathway is impaired, energy-starved nerves suffer damage that results in neuropathy. Lipids are converted into sources of nerve energy by this pathway.
The possibility of targeted therapeutic treatment, using medications and lifestyle changes, will become more likely as we learn more about the connection between serum lipid species and neuropathy, according to Feldman. “Our results lend credence to the idea that healthy unsaturated fats provide nerves with a more reliable source of energy than highly saturated fats. We strongly advise a Mediterranean-style diet to keep the nervous system in good shape.”
Exercise, which improves the effectiveness of the b-oxidation pathway, is another recommendation made by Feldman. “The key to preventing neuropathy is engaging in a healthy diet and exercise program,” she said.
Thekkelnaycke Rajendiran, Ph.D., Tanu Soni B.S., Jaeman Byun Ph.D., Masha G. Savelieff Ph.D., Brian C. Callaghan M.D., Subramaniam Pennathur M.D., all from the University of Michigan; Helen C. Looker Ph.D., Robert G. Nelson M.D., both from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases provided funding for this study through grants R 24 DK082841 and K99 DK129785.
