What it is?

Diabetic neuropathy is damage to the nerves caused by diabetes. The two most common types are peripheral and autonomic neuropathy.

• Peripheral nerves go from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and skin of the arms and legs. Peripheral neuropathy is the gradual deterioration of these long nerves, resulting in pain and sensory impairment. The end result of peripheral neuropathy is numbness in the feet, which, combined with circulation problems experienced by some people with diabetes, accounts for the high prevalence of foot problems in diabetes.

• Autonomic nerves regulate functions that we do not control consciously: blood pressure, the digestion of food, emptying the bladder, the flow of blood to the brain, the flow of blood to the penis required to achieve and maintain an erection. Autonomic neuropathies impair these functions. One of the most common results of autonomic neuropathy is impotence, a frequent problem in men with diabetes.