Endocrine Abstracts

Background and aims: Diabetic neuropathy is associated with impaired neuron myelination, nerve conduction, and muscle function. The pathogenic mechanisms of reduced myelination in diabetes mellitus are poorly understood. Peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) is glycoprotein with proposed roles in peripheral nerve myelin formation. This study allows us to consider the changes in the plasma levels of PMP22 in patients with and without diabetic neuropathy.

Materials and methods: We studied 34 subjects with DM duration of 15.2±2.1 years, mean value of HbA1c was 8.4±1.2% divided into two groups: diabetic patients without symptoms of peripheral somatic neuropathy (PSN) (consisted of 12 participants (five males/seven females), mean age was 42.7±10.1 years) and patients with diabetes and confirmed diagnosis of diabetic PSN (22 patients (eight males/14 females), mean age was 42.8±10.1 years) and 20 healthy volunteers (nine males/11 females, mean age was 48.3±9.5 years) as the control group. The plasma concentrations of PMP22 were measured by immunoassay. No subjects studied had signs of other disorders of peripheral nervous system.

Results: We found that plasma levels of PMP22 were significantly higher in the patients with PSN (9.1±1.32 ng/ml) compared to diabetic subjects without PSN (3.8±0.15 ng/ml) and control group (1.53±0.31 ng/ml), P<0.05.

Conclusion: These findings could suggest the occurrence of the neuron demyelination reflected by the elevated PMP22 in patients with diabetic neuropathy.