DIABETES: NERVY FINDINGS
Triglyceride fats linked to nerve damage
The next time a doctor orders blood tests, the patient or caregiver might want to ask about having triglyceride levels checked. New research, published in the July issue of the journal Diabetes, ties elevated blood levels of these fats
to a nerve-damage complicationof diabetes.
About 60 percent of the 23 million diabetics in the United States have some form of diabetic neuropathy, which causes numbness, tingling and pain in the hands, arms, legs and feet.
A study of 427 people by the University of Michigan and Wayne State University found that those with higher levels of triglycerides were significantly more likely to experience worsening neuropathy over the course of a year.
"Elevated serum triglycerides were the most accurate at predicting nerve fiber loss, compared to all other measures," including glucose control, notes co-author Kelli A. Sullivan, PhD, an assistant research professor in neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The study's senior author, Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School and Director of the Program for Neurology Research & Discovery, sys that the "results set the stage for clinicians to address lowering lipid [fat] counts with their diabetes patients with neuropathy as vigilantly as they pursue glucose control."
Regular exercise along with a healthful low-fat diet help control fats in the blood, including triglycerides and cholesterol.