Neuropathy "The Painful Enigma"

Peeps, read your blood work. We all need to know some basic numbers on our blood pannels.  Always check you HgA1c, Total Cholesterol, Blood Sugar - Fasting, now the LDL's.  To that end, a recent study from Germany published in JAMA Network Open helps highlight a potentially beneficial role for LDL in nerve function. The study enrolled 100 people with type 2 diabetes and measured their nerve function and degree of impairment (neuropathy). They used sophisticated measurements with MRI, direct measurements of nerve conduction, and subjective symptoms to assess impairment. They also measured LDL, HDL and total cholesterol levels and correlated the measurements with nerve function.

MedPage Today: T2D, cholesterol, and neuropathy: What’s the link?

What they found supports the hypothesis that cholesterol, and LDL in particular, might play an important role in nerve function and healing. They found that all measures — MRI, nerve conduction, and subjective symptoms — were worse with low total cholesterol and LDL and better with higher values. If you hae questions.  Ask me.  Dr. Alex Jimenez 915-850-0900

Hmm... The preliminary study not only found medical marijuana may be safe and effective, it also found that one-third of participants reduced their use of opioids.

However, researchers advise the study was retrospective and relied on participants reporting whether they experienced symptom relief, so it is possible that the placebo effect may have played a role. Additional randomized, placebo-controlled studies are needed, researchers added.

Not Funny.  Now blindness linked to blindness. The researchers concluded that the patient’s diet resulted in the onset of nutritional optic neuropathy, a condition they suspect could become more prevalent in the future, given the widespread consumption of ‘junk food’ at the expense of more nutritious options. They also noted that veganism could result in health issues, too, if vegans don’t supplement with vitamin B12 appropriately. 

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is damage to or disease affecting nerves, which may impair sensation, movement, gland or organ function, or other aspects of health, depending on the type of nerve affected. Common causes include systemic diseases (such as diabetes or leprosy), vitamin deficiency, medication (e.g., chemotherapy), traumatic injury, radiation therapy, excessive alcohol consumption, immune system disease, Coeliac disease, or viral infection. It can also be genetic (present from birth) or idiopathic (no known cause).[1][2][3] In conventional medical usage, the word neuropathy (neuro-, "nervous system" and -pathy, "disease of")[4] without modifier usually means peripheral neuropathy.

Neuropathy affecting just one nerve is called "mononeuropathy" and neuropathy involving multiple nerves in roughly the same areas on both sides of the body is called "symmetrical polyneuropathy" or simply "polyneuropathy." When two or more (typically just a few, but sometimes many) separate nerves in disparate areas of the body are affected it is called "mononeuritis multiplex," "multifocal mononeuropathy," or "multiple mononeuropathy."[1][2][3]

Peripheral neuropathy may be chronic (a long-term condition where symptoms begin subtly and progress slowly) or acute (sudden onset, rapid progress, and slow resolution). Acute neuropathies demand urgent diagnosis. Motor nerves (that control muscles), sensory nerves, or autonomic nerves (that control automatic functions such as heart rate, body temperature, and breathing), may be affected. More than one type of nerve may be affected at the same time. Peripheral neuropathies may be classified according to the type of nerve predominantly involved, or by the underlying cause.[1][2][3]

Neuropathy may cause painful cramps, fasciculations (fine muscle twitching), muscle loss, bone degeneration, and changes in the skin, hair, and nails. Additionally, motor neuropathy may cause impaired balance and coordination or, most commonly, muscle weakness; sensory neuropathy may cause numbness to touch and vibration, reduced position sense causing poorer coordination and balance, reduced sensitivity to temperature change and pain, spontaneous tingling or burning pain, or skin allodynia (severe pain from normally nonpainful stimuli, such as light touch); and autonomic neuropathy may produce diverse symptoms, depending on the affected glands and organs, but common symptoms are poor bladder control, abnormal blood pressure or heart rate, and reduced ability to sweat normally.[1][2][3]