Re: Diabetic Neuropathy

[Guest guest]

I found the attached article very interesting. It comes from

www.realage.com, but you have to be a member to view the article so I

pasted it here. I was particularly interested in the statement that

diabetes may cause portions of the spinal cord to shrink. I've had

type-2 diabetes for awhile and I know various other members do also. It

may be a coincidence, but the onset of my diabetes preceded my increased

symptoms of TCS. I wonder if it is a contributor since my symptoms only

started getting worse when I turned 50. Diabetes causing shrinkage of

the spinal cord that is already stretched sounds like trouble. On the

other hand this study sounds very preliminary.

Marty

Diabetic Nerve Damage Signs Found in Spinal Cord

By Merritt McKinney

NEW YORK, Jul 09 (Reuters Health) - New research

suggests that the painful nerve

damage that often occurs in people with diabetes is not

limited to the arms and legs and

other parts of the body outside the brain, but may

involve the spinal cord as well.

Many people who have diabetes develop nerve damage

called diabetic neuropathy. The

cause of the damage, which can cause severe pain and

loss of feeling in various parts of the

body, is unknown, and there is no effective treatment.

Diabetic neuropathy has been thought to be limited to

peripheral nerves--those outside of

the brain and spinal cord--but UK researchers have

uncovered signs that the condition

affects the spinal cord, according to a report in the

July 7th issue of The Lancet.

In the study, Dr. Simon E. M. Eaton of the Royal

Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and

colleagues used MRI scans to analyze the spinal cords

of 19 diabetes patients with

neuropathy, 10 diabetics without the nerve damage and

10 healthy people who did not

have diabetes.

Compared to the spinal cords of diabetic and healthy

patients who did not have

neuropathy, the spinal cords of patients with nerve

damage differed in two small regions,

the researchers report. These portions of spinal cord

were smaller in patients with

neuropathy.

The results indicate that diabetic neuropathy " is not

simply a disease of the peripheral

nerve and that there is substantial involvement of the

spinal cord, " the authors write.

But the connection between diabetic neuropathy and

spinal cord changes is not clear, the

investigators note. It is possible that damage to

peripheral nerves causes portions of the

spinal cord to shrink, they suggest. But another

possibility, according to the report, is that

damage to the spinal cord occurs first and then injures

nerves in other parts of the body.

" This research is a pilot study with small numbers of

participants, so there is a limit to the

conclusions that can be drawn, " Eaton and colleagues

conclude. More research is needed to

" prove conclusively that the changes we found are due

to a neuropathic process rather than

simply the diabetes itself, " they write.

If the findings are confirmed, they may lead to " an

important new direction " for

neuropathy research, Eaton's team points out. It might

be possible to detect early signs of

diabetic neuropathy in the spinal cord, which might

increase the chance that new

treatments will work.

Research into diabetic neuropathy, which affects about

one third of diabetics, " has been at

a standstill, with no advance in its causation or

treatment, " according to one of the study's

authors, Dr. Tesfaye. " This could be due to the

assumption that the disease

process is exclusively in the peripheral nerve, " he

told Reuters Health.

" Our study in fact does show involvement of the spinal

cord with marked 'shrinkage' in

those that have established neuropathy. This opens up a

whole new area for further

research, " he said.

" Is spinal cord involvement an early feature? " Tesfaye

added. " If it is, this would be a

major advance in our understanding of the disease and

may offer new therapeutic options. "

SOURCE: The Lancet 2001;358:35-36.