Of the 37 million Americans with diabetes, up to 50% may end up with nerve damage, or diabetic neuropathy, that can be painful and disabling.
While some medications can reduce pain, scientists continue searching for factors that cause patients to develop diabetic neuropathy – to identify ways to reduce the risk of harmful symptoms.
One study at Michigan Medicine finds multiple lipid biomarkers are linked to the development of neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers examined serum samples from nearly 70 members of the Gila River Indian community with type 2 diabetes who were tested for neuropathy 10 years later. They analyzed 435 different species of lipids, which are organic compounds composed of fats and oils.
Results published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology reveal that participants with high scores for diabetic neuropathy had changes in lipids reflecting impaired energy metabolism.
While there were differences between basic lipid profiles of participants with and without neuropathy, researchers found a pattern in blood lipid profiles 10 years prior to a person developing neuropathy that showed signaling dysfunction in a critical pathway called b-oxidation. This pathway converts lipids into sources of nerve energy, and, when impaired, energy-starved nerves undergo damage, leading to neuropathy.
