Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) is one of the least diagnosed symptoms affecting diabetic and pre-diabetic patients, with 1 in 2 and 1 in 10, respectively, suffering from it and its painful effects on the extremities.
Peripheral neuropathy caused by nerve damage is one of the most common diseases of the peripheral nervous system which controls all functions of our body, sensation in our hands and movements of our muscles. The symptoms include numbness, tingling, prickling, and stabbing or burning pain, mostly in the feet and hands.
With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 being the leading cause of PN, its increasing prevalence is closely linked to the rise in the number of diabetics. According to Dr. Bien Matawaran, a consultant for the Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism department of the UST Hospital and past president of the Philippine College of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, “A study from the Philippines in 2000 from the Diabcare-Asia project, which assessed 2,708 patients in diabetes centers, reported a prevalence of 42 percent for diabetic neuropathy, based on medical records. Often people are not even aware that they are at risk, as risk factors are not obvious, therefore it is critical to watch out for symptoms and do an early check.”
Other factors that increase the risk of PN include B vitamin deficiency and drinking of multiple medications for chronic diseases. People particularly at risk of PN include diabetic patients, obese persons, chemotherapy or surgery patients, elderly, heavy drinkers, people with nutritional deficiencies, and smokers, but the disease can also affect younger and supposedly healthy people.
“Many people affected by the disease are not aware that their symptoms are due to PN because the disease often develops slowly, starting with mild symptoms, almost silently over long periods of time. At some point symptoms become more severe, bothersome and will affect various aspects of patients’ lives. Suddenly, patients start losing mobility, have difficulties walking stairs or driving, struggle while executing simple day to day activities such as cooking, have difficulties sleeping, have injuries in their feet which they did not notice – all due to the progressing nerve damage,” Dr. Rizaldy Pinzon, neurologist at Bethesda Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia said.
The disease is therefore often only recognized and diagnosed in a late stage when nerve damage — that could have been avoided earlier — has already progressed. When more than 50 percent of the nerve fibres are damaged, a ‘point of no return’ occurs after which nerve regeneration is no longer possible.
“To address the need of a simple tool that can facilitate early diagnosis, P&G Health has launched the new Neurometer Pro, a digital patient self-screening questionnaire with just five questions that assess the patient’s risk for nerve damage. Created by PN experts from 10 countries and multiple specialties, the Neurometer Pro reduces screening time for physicians and empowers patients to act early to avoid long-term complications of PN. The tool is freely available for use for communities in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia to aid timely diagnosis of PN and improve patient care, Aditya Gupta, senior marketing director – Asia Pacific, P&G Health, shared.
One of the treatments include the synergistic combination of Neurotrophic B vitamins such as B1, B6, and B12, which not only can relieve symptoms but also significantly improve nerve function in patients measured via ankle and knee reflexes, muscle strength, and sensory perception in toes and fingers of patients with PN.
