diabetic neuropathy - definition of diabetic neuropathy in the Medical dictionary - by the Free Online Medical Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

Diabetic Neuropathy

Definition

Diabetic neuropathy is a nerve disorder caused by diabetes mellitus. Diabetic neuropathy may be diffuse, affecting several parts of the body, or focal, affecting a specific nerve and part of the body.

Description

The nervous system consists of two major divisions: the central nervous systems (CNS) which includes the brain, the cranial nerves, and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) which includes the nerves that link the CNS with the sensory organs, muscles, blood vessels, and glands of the body. These peripheral nerves are either motor, meaning that they are involved in motor activity such as walking, or sensory, meaning that they carry sensory information back to the CNS. The PNS also works with the CNS to regulate involuntary (autonomic) processes such as breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, etc.

There are two types of diffuse diabetic neuropathy that affect different nervous system functions. Diffuse peripheral neuropathy primarily affects the limbs, damaging the nerves of the feet and hands. Autonomic neuropathy is the other form of diffuse neuropathy and it affects the heart and other internal organs.

Focal—or localized—diabetic neuropathy affects specific nerves, most commonly in the torso, leg, or head.

Diabetic neuropathy can lead to muscular weakness, loss of feeling or sensation, and loss of autonomic functions such as digestion, erection, bladder control, and sweating among others.

The longer a person has diabetes, the more likely the development of one or more forms of neuropathy. Approximately 60-70% of patients with diabetes have neuropathy, but only about 5% will experience painful symptoms.

Causes and symptoms

The exact cause of diabetic neuropathy is not known. Researchers believe that the process of nerve damage is related to high glucose concentrations in the blood that could cause chemical changes in nerves, disrupting their ability to effectively send messages. High blood glucose is also known to damage the blood vessels that carry oxygen and other nutrients to the nerves. In addition, some people may have a genetic predisposition to develop neuropathy.

There is a wide range of symptoms associated with diabetic neuropathy, and they depend on which nerves and parts of the body are affected and also on the type of neuropathy present. Some patients have very mild symptoms, while others are severely disabled.

Common symptoms of diffuse peripheral neuropathy include:

numbness and feelings of tingling or burning
insensitivity to pain
needle-like jabs of pain
extreme sensitivity to touch
loss of balance and coordination

Common symptoms of diffuse autonomic neuropathy include:

impaired urination and sexual function
bladder infections
stomach disorders, due to the impaired ability of the stomach to empty (gastric stasis)
nausea, vomiting and bloating
dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting spells
loss of appetite

Common symptoms of focal neuropathy include:

pain in the front of a thigh
severe pain in the lower back
pain in the chest or stomach
ache behind an eye
double vision
paralysis on one side of the face

In severe diabetic neuropathy loss of sensation can lead to injuries that are unnoticed, progressing to infections, ulceration and possibly amputation.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of neuropathy is based on the symptoms that present during a physical exam. Pain assessment is usually the first step. Patients may have more than one type of pain, and the history helps the doctor determine whether a the pain has a neuropathic cause.

The exam may include:

a screening test for lost sensation
nerve conduction studies to check the flow of electric current through a nerve
electromyography (EMG) to see how well muscles respond to electrical impulses transmitted by nearby nerves.
ultrasound to show how the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract are functioning
sometimes a nerve biopsy may be performed.

Specialists who treat diabetic neuropathy include:

neurologists: specialists in nervous system disorders
urologists: specialists in urinary tract disorder
gastroenterologists: specialists in digestive disorders
podiatrists: specialists in caring for the feet

Treatment

Treatment of diabetic neuropathy is usually focused on treating the symptoms associated with the neuropathy and addressing the underlying cause by improving the control of blood sugar levels, which may heal the early stages of neuropathy.

There is no cure for the permanent nerve damage caused by neuropathy. To help control pain, the choice of proven drug therapies has broadened during the past decade. Pain medication, such as the topical skin cream capsaicin, is usually no stronger than codeine because of the potential for addiction with long-term use of such drugs. Four main classes of drugs are available for pain management, alone or in combination: tricyclic antidepressants (Imipramine, Nortriptyline), narcotic analgesics (Morphine), anticonvulsants (Carbamazepine, Gabapentin), and antiarrhythmics.

Key terms

Central nervous system (CNS) — Part of the nervous system consisting of the brain, cranial nerves, and spinal cord. The brain is the center of higher processes, such as thought and emotion, and is responsible for the coordination and control of bodily activities and the interpretation of information from the senses. The cranial nerves and spinal cord link the brain to the peripheral nervous system.

Diabetes mellitus — Disease characterized by the inability of the body to produce or respond properly to insulin, required by the body to convert glucose to energy.

Glucose — The type of sugar found in the blood.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS) — One of the two major divisions of the nervous system. PNS nerves link the central nervous system with sensory organs, muscles, blood vessels, and glands.

Prognosis

Early stage diabetic neuropathy can usually be reversed with good glucose control. Once nerve damage has occurred it cannot be reversed. The prognosis is largely dependent on the management of the underlying condition, diabetes, which may halt the progression of the neuropathy and improve symptoms. Recovery, if it occurs, is slow.

Prevention

Tight glucose control and the avoidance of alcohol and cigarettes help protect nerves from damage.

Resources

Organizations

American Diabetes Association. 1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311. (800) DIABETES (800-342-2383). http://www.diabetes.org/.

Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. 120 Wall St., 19th Floor, New York, NY 10005. (800) 533-CURE. http://www.jdf.org/.

neuropathy /neu·rop·a·thy/ (ndbobr-rop´ah-the) a functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system, sometimes limited to noninflammatory lesions as opposed to those of neuritis.

angiopathic neuropathy that caused by arteritis of the blood vessels supplying the nerves, usually a systemic complication of disease.

axonal neuropathy axonopathy.

diabetic neuropathy any of several clinical types of peripheral neuropathy (sensory, motor, autonomic, and mixed) occurring with diabetes mellitus; the most common is a chronic, symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy affecting first the nerves of the lower limbs and often affecting autonomic nerves.

entrapment neuropathy any of a group of neuropathies, e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome, due to mechanical pressure on a peripheral nerve.

hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN) any of a group of hereditary polyneuropathies involving muscle weakness, atrophy, sensory deficits, and vasomotor changes in the lower limbs.

hereditary optic neuropathy Leber's hereditary optic n.

hereditary sensory neuropathy hereditary sensory radicular n.

hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) any of several inherited neuropathies that involve slow ascendance of lesions of the sensory nerves, resulting in pain, distal trophic ulcers, and autonomic disturbances.

hereditary sensory radicular neuropathy an inherited polyneuropathy characterized by signs of radicular sensory loss in the limbs, shooting pains, chronic trophic ulceration of the feet, and sometimes deafness.

ischemic neuropathy an injury to a peripheral nerve caused by a reduction in blood supply.

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy an inherited disorder of ATP manufacture, usually in males, usually as bilateral progressive optic atrophy and loss of central vision that may remit spontaneously.

multiple neuropathy

1. polyneuropathy.

2. multiple mononeuropathy.

peripheral neuropathy polyneuropathy.

pressure neuropathy entrapment n.

progressive hypertrophic neuropathy a slowly progressive familial disease beginning in early life, marked by hyperplasia of interstitial connective tissue causing thickening of peripheral nerve trunks and posterior roots, and by sclerosis of the posterior columns of the spinal cord.

sarcoid neuropathy a polyneuropathy sometimes seen in sarcoidosis, characterized by either cranial polyneuritis or spinal nerve deficits.

tomaculous neuropathy an inherited neuropathy characterized by pain, weakness, and pressure palsy in the arms and hands, with swelling of the myelin sheaths.

toxic neuropathy that due to ingestion of a toxin.

vasculitic neuropathy angiopathic n.

diabetic neuropathy

A combined sensory and motor neuropathy, usual symmetric and segmental and involving autonomic neurons, seen frequently in older diabetic patients.

diabetic neuropathy,

a noninflammatory disease process associated with diabetes mellitus and characterized by sensory and/or motor disturbances in the peripheral nervous system. Patients commonly experience degeneration of sensory nerves and pathways. Early symptoms, which include pain and loss of reflexes in the legs, may occur in patients with only mild hyperglycemia. Diabetes is associated with a wide range of neuropathies, including mononeuritis multiplex, compression and entrapment mononeuropathies, cranial neuropathies, and autonomic and small fiber neuropathies. Differential diagnosis is difficult because not all sensorimotor neuropathies are caused by diabetes.

diabetic nephropathy (n

fro´p

thē´),

n the negative effects on the kidneys or renal system caused by diabetes mellitus. The condition may necessitate dialysis or kidney transplant.

diabetic neuropathy,

n the complications to the nervous system that can be caused by diabetes mellitus, some of which may necessitate amputation or result in oral or facial symptoms.

neuropathy

a general term denoting functional disturbances and pathological changes in the peripheral nervous system. The etiology may be known (e.g. poidoning by arsenicals, ischemic or traumatic neuropathy) or unknown. Encephalopathy and myelopathy are corresponding terms relating to involvement of the brain and spinal cord, respectively. The term is also used to designate noninflammatory lesions in the peripheral nervous system, in contrast to inflammatory lesions (neuritis).

central peripheral neuropathy

see Boxer progressive axonopathy.

diabetic neuropathy

a chronic symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy associated with diabetes mellitus in humans, which occurs uncommonly in dogs and cats.

entrapment neuropathy

a neuropathy due to mechanical pressure on a peripheral nerve.

giant axonal neuropathy

a familial disease of German shepherd dogs, characterized by ataxia, hypotonia, reduced pain sensation, and loss of reflexes and proprioception in the hindlegs, which develops from a young age. Vomiting, associated with esophageal dilatation, also occurs.

hereditary neuropathy

recorded in Tibetan mastiff as an inherited defect in myelin production. Weakness, loss of reflexes and quadriplegia develop quickly and at an early age.

hereditary sensory neuropathy

an inherited abnormality in which affected dogs have impaired perception of pain in the feet and lower limbs from a young age; causes extensive self-mutilation of toes and footpads. It occurs in German shorthaired pointers, English pointers and English springer spaniels. Called also acral mutilation syndrome.

infiltrative splanchnic neuropathy

see macaw wasting disease.

progressive neuropathy

disease of young Cairn terriers with many similarities to globoid cell leukodystrophy. Affected dogs show quadriparesis, ataxia and head tremors.

retrobulbar neuropathy

see dryopteris.

trigeminal neuropathy

see mandibular neurapraxia.

diabetic neuropathy

Diabetic nerve damage Neurology A neuropathy that affects up to 50% of Pts with DM with slowing of nerve conduction and/or Sx of neuropathy–eg, distal, bilateral, usually symmetrical often sensory polyneuropathy with hyperesthesias of the hands and feet, focal and multifocal neuropathy, and trophic changes of extremities–eg, hair loss, thin skin, disorders of sweating, and sensation of cold Forms of DN Diabetic ophthalmoplegia, thoracoabdominal radiculopathy, acute mononeuropathy, mononeuropathy multiplex–a painful, asymmetrical neuropathy Treatment None

Patient discussion about diabetic neuropathy.

Q. My blood sugars are usually in the range of 180 (when I first get up) to about 240 in evening.. normal? I have been told I have Diabetes Type II. one doctor put me on metformin.. then that doc retired. Next doc said I don't need metformin. But I have noticed by checking blood sugars at home, they seem a little high. Also have been having some sweating, headaches, and some pain in feet and weird burning in feet.. Is that from high blood sugar? What is high? Should I tell my doc what my readings are? Do you think I need to get on a medication? I am trying diet modification and some exercise (I have a bad back and can't do much exercise or walking)... just don't want to get damage to my body from high blood sugars. thanks

A. Your readings does describe diabetes, and metformin is considered as the first line treatment for diabetes, however, giving diet and exercise a chance before starting meds was considered a legitimate approach before. I think that informing your doctor is a very good idea. The complaints your describe may result from diabetes, although not necessarily.

Take care,