Peripheral Neuropathy in Diabetes: Burden, Lifestyle and Pharmacological Interventions for Prevention and Treatment

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a very common comorbidity worldwide, and it is associated with a wide variety of complications. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of these complications that increases the morbidity and mortality of these patients. Multiple studies indicated that lifestyle modifications are very beneficial for these patients in terms of decreasing the symptoms or preventing the progression of the disease. Therefore, a thorough search was conducted to study and shed light on the effects of lifestyle interventions, such as physical exercise, and pharmacological treatment on DPN. A total of 100 studies were found and 32 were selected based on whether or not they support the aim of the study. It was concluded that lifestyle interventions such as regular exercise, healthy diet and weight loss, which will all in turn improve the patient’s glycemic control, play a major role in controlling the disease and preventing its complications. Moreover, the aim of pharmacological interventions is a 30% reduction in pain intensity, however pharmacological interventions are limited in DPN, up till now the FDA approved only three medications that help in the reduction of the pain intensity. These medications are antidepressant duloxetine, anticonvulsant pregabalin, and the opioid-like analgesic tapentadol.