According to new research presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Endocrinology in Glasgow, patients with type 2 diabetes who are taking metformin should have their vitamin B12 levels checked more regularly to prevent permanent nerve damage.
In the article estet-portal.com you can read in detail the results of the study, which suggest that the early detection of vitamin B12 deficiency through routine screening of all patients with type 2 diabetes treated with metformin, could reduce the risk of permanent, painful and potentially disabling nerve damage.
Diabetic polyneuropathy as a complication of diabetes
The rise in the incidence of type 2 diabetes is a major public health problem worldwide. Its prevalence is associated with malnutrition and unhealthy lifestyles, and it is characterized by high blood glucose levels, which must be controlled with medication.
Watch the most interesting videos on our channel in Youtube
Nerve damage in the periphery — diabetic polyneuropathy — is a common complication of diabetes with symptoms that range from numbness to pain and can lead to debilitating loss of balance and coordination, as well as loss of deep sensation (muscle-joint sense).
Modern management of the patient with diabetes mellitus: the other side of the coin
Metformin is the recommended and most effective first line treatment for type 2 diabetes, but its use has also been associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, which increases the risk of peripheral nerve damage. Despite irreversible damage to the peripheral nervous system, there are no formal guidelines for screening vitamin B12 levels in patients receiving metformin.
In this study, Dr. Kaenath Mullah and colleagues from the UK at Hucknall Road Medical Centre, Nottingham screened for vitamin B12 deficiency in metformin-treated women with type 2 diabetes.
The results of the audit showed that 64% of patients had no control over their vitamin B12 levels at all, and that 9.6% of patients were deficient, but only 6.4% received treatment for this deficiency condition.
Dr. Kaenath Mullah states: “According to current guidelines from the British Society of Hematology, vitamin B12 levels are only tested when there is clinical suspicion of deficiency. However, peripheral neuropathy is irreversible and it may be too late to treat the effects of metformin.
Metformin is associated with the development of vitamin B12 deficiency
Dr. Mulla and her team are currently planning to expand the audit to determine how best to treat patients found to be vitamin B12 deficient and provide additional evidence that all type 2 diabetic patients taking metformin should check vitamin B12 levels more regularly.
Diabetic patients taking metformin should be checked more frequently for vitamin B12 deficiency.
However, metformin remains the best treatment for type 2 diabetes, and these results should not discourage patients from taking this first-line hypoglycemic drug, but should encourage physicians to monitor vitamin B12 levels more regularly in order to correct vitamin B12 deficiency in time .
Thank you for staying with estet-portal.com. Read other interesting articles in the "Endocrinology" section. You may be interested in How to recognize diabetic neuropathy
Share:
Add a comment