Diabetic neuropathy: interdisciplinary problem in clinical practice

E.V. Ekusheva^1,2

¹Academy of Postgraduate Education of the Federal Scientific and Clinical Center of the Federal Medical Biological Agency of Russian Federation, Moscow

²Belgorod State University, Belgorod

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most significant and common complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), leading to impairment, severe maladaptation, early disability and death. Diabetic neuropathy is a complex of polymorphic clinical and subclinical syndromes characterized by diffuse or focal lesion of the fibers in the peripheral and/or autonomous nervous system (as a result of metabolic, vascular and other disorders associated with DM) and has characteristic manifestations and course. The article discusses the clinical signs and variants of diabetic neuropathy course, and the issues of diagnosis and therapy of patients with this disease. To date, the only drug with proven efficacy for pathogenetic therapy of diabetic neuropathy is thioctic acid (α-lipoic acid), which serves as a powerful endogenous antioxidant and cofactor of the most important mitochondrial enzyme complexes involved in the oxidative metabolism processes. The article presents the review of studies, the results of which indicate the efficacy of thioctic acid, and also describes own clinical experience of thioctic acid use in patients with diabetic neuropathy. The importance of early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy and timely complex therapy, including thioctic acid preparations, is emphasized, as it will significantly affect the severity and further progression of the pathological process in patient with DM.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic polyneuropathy, neuropathic pain, α-lipoic acid, thioctic acid.

For citation: Ekusheva E.V. Diabetic neuropathy: interdisciplinary problem in clinical practice. RMJ. 2021;10:50–55.