Gamma-linolenic Acid Ameliorates the Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetes is a chronic condition caused by insufficient insulin entering the bloodstream to regulate the glucose.

In other words, diabetes occurs when cells in the pancreas dying off or receptor sites clogged up by fat and cholesterol. In some cases, diabetes is also caused by allergic reactions of cells in the immune system.

Most common types of diabetes are
* Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, the most common form diabetes found in children is a condition in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin. The most common form of type 1 diabetes is caused by genetic mutation and some viruses.

* Type 2 diabetes is a medical condition characterized by insufficient insulin entering the bloodstream to regulate the glucose due to either cell in pancreas dying off or receptor sites clogged up by fat and cholesterol.
Diabetic neuropathy is a complication of patients with diabetes associated with nerve damages, ranging from pain and numbness in your legs and feet to problems with your digestive system.

Most cases of diabetic neuropathy are involved in diabetics who have a history of hyperglycemia caused by long-term high levels of glucose in the bloodstream, urinary tract, blood vessels, and heart.

Diabetic neuropathy can be classified into 4 main types, including.

* Peripheral neuropathy is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy, affecting the nerves that control the feet and legs first, followed by the hands and arms.

* The autonomic neuropathy that affects the nerves that control the heart, bladder, stomach, intestines, sex organs and eyes.

* Radiculoplexus neuropathy found mostly in older patients affects nerves that control the thighs, hips, buttocks or legs.

* Mononeuropathy, or focal neuropathy also found commonly in older patients affects the nerves that control the face, middle of the body (torso) or leg.

The exact causes of diabetic neuropathy are totally depending on the type of neuropathy. However, damage of nerves and blood vessels in the affected area has been found to induce by overtime, uncontrolled high blood sugar.

Gamma-linolenic acid is a phytochemical in the group of Omega-3, 6,9 fatty acids, belongings to the class of Lipids, found abundantly in evening primrose, borage, blackcurrant, etc.

On finding a potential plant that processes anti-diabetic activity, researchers examined the effect of gamma-linolenic acid on diabetic complications of neuropathy.

A multicenter, parallel-group, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized, noninferiority joint study include the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of γ-linolenic acid (GLA) relative to α-lipoic acid (ALA) over a 12-week treatment period in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) was conducted.

According to the results of the analysis of 100 T2DM patients between 20 and 75 years of age who had painful DPN and received either GLA (320 mg/day) and placebo or ALA (600 mg/day) and placebo for 12 weeks,* There was a significant decrease in the mean visual analog scale (VAS) and the total symptom scores (TSS). scores compared to baseline in both groups, but there were no significant differences between the groups.

* The treatment difference for the VAS (95% confidence interval [CI]) between the two groups was -0.65 (-1.526 to 0.213) and the upper bound of the 95% CI did not exceed the predefined noninferiority margin (δ₁=0.51).

* For the TSS, the treatment difference was -0.05 (-1.211 to 1.101) but the upper bound of the 95% CI crossed the noninferiority margin (δ₂=0.054).

* There were no serious adverse events associated with the treatments.

Collectively, researchers said, "GLA treatment in patients with painful DPN was noninferior to ALA in terms of reducing pain intensity measured by the VAS over 12 weeks".

Taken altogether, gamma-linolenic acid may be considered a functional food for reducing the painful diabetic neuropathy, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) γ-Linolenic Acid versus α-Lipoic Acid for Treating Painful Diabetic Neuropathy in Adults: A 12-Week, Double-Placebo, Randomized, Noninferiority Trial by Won JC1, Kwon HS2, Moon SS3, Chun SW4, Kim CH5, Park IB6, Kim IJ7, Lee J8, Cha BY9, Park TS. (PubMed)