Aim: To investigate the effect of normalizing vitamin B12 (B12) levels with oral B12 (methylcobal... more Aim: To investigate the effect of normalizing vitamin B12 (B12) levels with oral B12 (methylcobalamin) 1000 μg/day for one year in patients with diabetic neuropathy (DN). Patients and methods: In this prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 90 patients with type 2 diabetes on metformin for at least four years and both peripheral and autonomic DN were randomized to an active treatment group (n = 44) receiving B12 and a control group (n = 46) receiving a placebo. All patients had B12 levels less than 400 pmol/L. Subjects underwent measurements of sural nerve conduction velocity (SNCV), sural nerve action potential (amplitude) (SNAP), and vibration perception threshold (VPT), and they performed cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests (CARTs: mean circular resultant (MCR), Valsalva test, postural index, and orthostatic hypotension). Sudomotor function was assessed with the SUDOSCAN that measures electrochemical skin conductance in hands and feet (ESCH and ESCF, respectively)....
Solomon Tesfaye speaks to Nick Ward, Commissioning Editor: Solomon Tesfaye, MB ChB, MD, FRCP, spe... more Solomon Tesfaye speaks to Nick Ward, Commissioning Editor: Solomon Tesfaye, MB ChB, MD, FRCP, speaks about PL37; the first orally administered dual inhibitor of enkephalinases and its potential role in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. Solomon Tesfaye is a Consultant Physician/Endocrinologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Honorary Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Sheffield. His research projects include the epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, CNS involvement and treatment of diabetic neuropathy and neuropathic pain. He was awarded the Prestigious Camillo Golgi Prize of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in 2014 for major scientific contributions in diabetic neuropathy. He has had international leadership roles including chairmanship of the International Expert Group on Diabetic Neuropathy, and of NEURODIAB (2006-2009). He is also a member of the Science and Research Committee of Diabetes UK; a review panel member for ...
Background. People with diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) have increased cardiov... more Background. People with diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) have increased cardiovascular mortality. However, the association between distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN) or CAN with all-cause mortality is much less investigated. Thus, we set out to examine the effect of CAN and DSPN on all-cause mortality in a well-phenotyped cohort. Methods. All diabetes cases ( n = 1,347 ) from the catchment area of a secondary diabetes care centre who had medical examination including neuropathy assessment between 1997 and 2016 were followed up for all-cause mortality in the NHS Hungary reimbursement database until 2018. We investigated the association of CAN (Ewing tests) and DSPN (Neurometer) with all-cause mortality using Cox models stratified by diabetes type. Results. Altogether, n = 131 / 1,011 persons with type 1/type 2 diabetes were included. Of the participants, 53%/43% were male, mean age was 46 ± 12 / 64 ± 10 years, diabetes duration was 13 ± 10 / 7 ± 8 years, 42%/29%...
Aims/hypothesis The aim of this work was to investigate whether different clinical pain phenotype... more Aims/hypothesis The aim of this work was to investigate whether different clinical pain phenotypes of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) are distinguished by functional connectivity at rest. Methods This was an observational, cohort study of 43 individuals with painful DPN, divided into irritable (IR, n = 10) and non-irritable (NIR, n = 33) nociceptor phenotypes using the German Research Network of Neuropathic Pain quantitative sensory testing protocol. In-situ brain MRI included 3D T1-weighted anatomical and 6 min resting-state functional MRI scans. Subgroup differences in resting-state functional connectivity in brain regions involved with somatic (thalamus, primary somatosensory cortex, motor cortex) and non-somatic (insular and anterior cingulate cortices) pain processing were examined. Multidimensional reduction of MRI datasets was performed using a machine-learning approach to classify individuals into each clinical pain phenotype. Results Individuals with the IR nociceptor phenoty...
AimsTo evaluate the feasibility of a one‐stop microvascular screening service for the early diagn... more AimsTo evaluate the feasibility of a one‐stop microvascular screening service for the early diagnosis of diabetic distal symmetrical polyneuropathy, painful distal symmetrical polyneuropathy and the at‐risk diabetic foot.MethodsPeople with diabetes attending retinal screening in hospital and community settings had their feet examined by a podiatrist. Assessment included: Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score evaluation; a 10‐g monofilament test; and two validated, objective and quick measures of neuropathy obtained using the point‐of‐care devices ‘DPN‐Check’, a hand‐held device that measures sural nerve conduction velocity and amplitude, and ‘Sudoscan’, a device that measures sudomotor function. The diagnostic utility of these devices was assessed against the Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score as the ‘gold standard’.ResultsA total of 236 consecutive people attending the retinal screening service, 18.9% of whom had never previously had their feet examined, were evaluated. The prevalence o...
AimRecent studies have reported an association between low vitamin D levels and diabetic peripher... more AimRecent studies have reported an association between low vitamin D levels and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, many of these did not differentiate between people with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and those with painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy, or assess major confounding factors including sunlight exposure and daily activity. Our study addressed these limitations and evaluated vitamin D levels in people with carefully phenotyped diabetic peripheral neuropathy and controls.MethodsForty‐five white Europeans with Type 2 diabetes and 14 healthy volunteers underwent clinical and neurophysiological assessments. People with Type 2 diabetes were then divided into three groups (17 with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, 14 with painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy and 14 with no diabetic peripheral neuropathy). All had seasonal sunlight exposure and daily activity measured, underwent a lower limb skin biopsy and had 25‐hydroxyvitamin D measured during the ...
Epidemiological studies in patients with neuropathic pain demonstrate a strong association with p... more Epidemiological studies in patients with neuropathic pain demonstrate a strong association with psychiatric conditions such as anxiety; however, the precipitating pathology between these symptoms remains unclear. To investigate this, we studied the effects of lifelong stress on levels of neuropathic pain-like behavior and conversely, the effects of chronic neuropathic injury on anxiety-like status in male and female mice. In addition, we assayed this link in painful and painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients. Male and female mice were subject to ongoing life-stress or control living conditions. Baseline sensitivity and anxiety tests were measured followed by spared nerve injury (SNI) to the sciatic nerve. Subsequent sensory testing occurred until 3 weeks after SNI followed by anxiety tests between 4 and 6 weeks after SNI. Levels of tactile or cold allodynia did not differ between adult mice subject to lifelong chronic stress, relative to nonstressed controls, for at least ...
In a recent cluster analysis, it has been shown that patients with peripheral neuropathic pain ca... more In a recent cluster analysis, it has been shown that patients with peripheral neuropathic pain can be grouped into 3 sensory phenotypes based on quantitative sensory testing profiles, which are mainly characterized by either sensory loss, intact sensory function and mild thermal hyperalgesia and/or allodynia, or loss of thermal detection and mild mechanical hyperalgesia and/or allodynia. Here, we present an algorithm for allocation of individual patients to these subgroups. The algorithm is nondeterministic-ie, a patient can be sorted to more than one phenotype-and can separate patients with neuropathic pain from healthy subjects (sensitivity: 78%, specificity: 94%). We evaluated the frequency of each phenotype in a population of patients with painful diabetic polyneuropathy (n = 151), painful peripheral nerve injury (n = 335), and postherpetic neuralgia (n = 97) and propose sample sizes of study populations that need to be screened to reach a subpopulation large enough to conduct a...
Diabetes & vascular disease research : official journal of the International Society of Diabetes and Vascular Disease, Jan 12, 2014
To examine the contribution of demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors to emotion... more To examine the contribution of demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors to emotional distress in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (DN). In total, 142 patients with confirmed painful DN underwent detailed clinical and self-assessment measures (Neuropathic Pain Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Pain Acceptance Questionnaire and Pain Catastrophizing Scale). The prevalence of emotional distress was 51.4% in this cohort. Age, sex, marital status, employment history, pain intensity, duration of diabetes and the presence of diabetic and non-diabetic complications were significantly correlated to anxiety and depressive symptom scores. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that the presence of catastrophic thinking was an independent contributor to greater symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being young, single and unemployed significantly contributed to greater anxiety symptoms. Pain-related restriction of quality of life was associated with greater depr...
Aim: To investigate the effect of normalizing vitamin B12 (B12) levels with oral B12 (methylcobal... more Aim: To investigate the effect of normalizing vitamin B12 (B12) levels with oral B12 (methylcobalamin) 1000 μg/day for one year in patients with diabetic neuropathy (DN). Patients and methods: In this prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 90 patients with type 2 diabetes on metformin for at least four years and both peripheral and autonomic DN were randomized to an active treatment group (n = 44) receiving B12 and a control group (n = 46) receiving a placebo. All patients had B12 levels less than 400 pmol/L. Subjects underwent measurements of sural nerve conduction velocity (SNCV), sural nerve action potential (amplitude) (SNAP), and vibration perception threshold (VPT), and they performed cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests (CARTs: mean circular resultant (MCR), Valsalva test, postural index, and orthostatic hypotension). Sudomotor function was assessed with the SUDOSCAN that measures electrochemical skin conductance in hands and feet (ESCH and ESCF, respectively)....
Solomon Tesfaye speaks to Nick Ward, Commissioning Editor: Solomon Tesfaye, MB ChB, MD, FRCP, spe... more Solomon Tesfaye speaks to Nick Ward, Commissioning Editor: Solomon Tesfaye, MB ChB, MD, FRCP, speaks about PL37; the first orally administered dual inhibitor of enkephalinases and its potential role in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. Solomon Tesfaye is a Consultant Physician/Endocrinologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Honorary Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Sheffield. His research projects include the epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, CNS involvement and treatment of diabetic neuropathy and neuropathic pain. He was awarded the Prestigious Camillo Golgi Prize of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in 2014 for major scientific contributions in diabetic neuropathy. He has had international leadership roles including chairmanship of the International Expert Group on Diabetic Neuropathy, and of NEURODIAB (2006-2009). He is also a member of the Science and Research Committee of Diabetes UK; a review panel member for ...
Background. People with diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) have increased cardiov... more Background. People with diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) have increased cardiovascular mortality. However, the association between distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN) or CAN with all-cause mortality is much less investigated. Thus, we set out to examine the effect of CAN and DSPN on all-cause mortality in a well-phenotyped cohort. Methods. All diabetes cases ( n = 1,347 ) from the catchment area of a secondary diabetes care centre who had medical examination including neuropathy assessment between 1997 and 2016 were followed up for all-cause mortality in the NHS Hungary reimbursement database until 2018. We investigated the association of CAN (Ewing tests) and DSPN (Neurometer) with all-cause mortality using Cox models stratified by diabetes type. Results. Altogether, n = 131 / 1,011 persons with type 1/type 2 diabetes were included. Of the participants, 53%/43% were male, mean age was 46 ± 12 / 64 ± 10 years, diabetes duration was 13 ± 10 / 7 ± 8 years, 42%/29%...
Aims/hypothesis The aim of this work was to investigate whether different clinical pain phenotype... more Aims/hypothesis The aim of this work was to investigate whether different clinical pain phenotypes of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) are distinguished by functional connectivity at rest. Methods This was an observational, cohort study of 43 individuals with painful DPN, divided into irritable (IR, n = 10) and non-irritable (NIR, n = 33) nociceptor phenotypes using the German Research Network of Neuropathic Pain quantitative sensory testing protocol. In-situ brain MRI included 3D T1-weighted anatomical and 6 min resting-state functional MRI scans. Subgroup differences in resting-state functional connectivity in brain regions involved with somatic (thalamus, primary somatosensory cortex, motor cortex) and non-somatic (insular and anterior cingulate cortices) pain processing were examined. Multidimensional reduction of MRI datasets was performed using a machine-learning approach to classify individuals into each clinical pain phenotype. Results Individuals with the IR nociceptor phenoty...
AimsTo evaluate the feasibility of a one‐stop microvascular screening service for the early diagn... more AimsTo evaluate the feasibility of a one‐stop microvascular screening service for the early diagnosis of diabetic distal symmetrical polyneuropathy, painful distal symmetrical polyneuropathy and the at‐risk diabetic foot.MethodsPeople with diabetes attending retinal screening in hospital and community settings had their feet examined by a podiatrist. Assessment included: Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score evaluation; a 10‐g monofilament test; and two validated, objective and quick measures of neuropathy obtained using the point‐of‐care devices ‘DPN‐Check’, a hand‐held device that measures sural nerve conduction velocity and amplitude, and ‘Sudoscan’, a device that measures sudomotor function. The diagnostic utility of these devices was assessed against the Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score as the ‘gold standard’.ResultsA total of 236 consecutive people attending the retinal screening service, 18.9% of whom had never previously had their feet examined, were evaluated. The prevalence o...
AimRecent studies have reported an association between low vitamin D levels and diabetic peripher... more AimRecent studies have reported an association between low vitamin D levels and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, many of these did not differentiate between people with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and those with painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy, or assess major confounding factors including sunlight exposure and daily activity. Our study addressed these limitations and evaluated vitamin D levels in people with carefully phenotyped diabetic peripheral neuropathy and controls.MethodsForty‐five white Europeans with Type 2 diabetes and 14 healthy volunteers underwent clinical and neurophysiological assessments. People with Type 2 diabetes were then divided into three groups (17 with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, 14 with painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy and 14 with no diabetic peripheral neuropathy). All had seasonal sunlight exposure and daily activity measured, underwent a lower limb skin biopsy and had 25‐hydroxyvitamin D measured during the ...
Epidemiological studies in patients with neuropathic pain demonstrate a strong association with p... more Epidemiological studies in patients with neuropathic pain demonstrate a strong association with psychiatric conditions such as anxiety; however, the precipitating pathology between these symptoms remains unclear. To investigate this, we studied the effects of lifelong stress on levels of neuropathic pain-like behavior and conversely, the effects of chronic neuropathic injury on anxiety-like status in male and female mice. In addition, we assayed this link in painful and painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients. Male and female mice were subject to ongoing life-stress or control living conditions. Baseline sensitivity and anxiety tests were measured followed by spared nerve injury (SNI) to the sciatic nerve. Subsequent sensory testing occurred until 3 weeks after SNI followed by anxiety tests between 4 and 6 weeks after SNI. Levels of tactile or cold allodynia did not differ between adult mice subject to lifelong chronic stress, relative to nonstressed controls, for at least ...
In a recent cluster analysis, it has been shown that patients with peripheral neuropathic pain ca... more In a recent cluster analysis, it has been shown that patients with peripheral neuropathic pain can be grouped into 3 sensory phenotypes based on quantitative sensory testing profiles, which are mainly characterized by either sensory loss, intact sensory function and mild thermal hyperalgesia and/or allodynia, or loss of thermal detection and mild mechanical hyperalgesia and/or allodynia. Here, we present an algorithm for allocation of individual patients to these subgroups. The algorithm is nondeterministic-ie, a patient can be sorted to more than one phenotype-and can separate patients with neuropathic pain from healthy subjects (sensitivity: 78%, specificity: 94%). We evaluated the frequency of each phenotype in a population of patients with painful diabetic polyneuropathy (n = 151), painful peripheral nerve injury (n = 335), and postherpetic neuralgia (n = 97) and propose sample sizes of study populations that need to be screened to reach a subpopulation large enough to conduct a...
Diabetes & vascular disease research : official journal of the International Society of Diabetes and Vascular Disease, Jan 12, 2014
To examine the contribution of demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors to emotion... more To examine the contribution of demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors to emotional distress in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (DN). In total, 142 patients with confirmed painful DN underwent detailed clinical and self-assessment measures (Neuropathic Pain Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Pain Acceptance Questionnaire and Pain Catastrophizing Scale). The prevalence of emotional distress was 51.4% in this cohort. Age, sex, marital status, employment history, pain intensity, duration of diabetes and the presence of diabetic and non-diabetic complications were significantly correlated to anxiety and depressive symptom scores. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that the presence of catastrophic thinking was an independent contributor to greater symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being young, single and unemployed significantly contributed to greater anxiety symptoms. Pain-related restriction of quality of life was associated with greater depr...
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