Nerve growth factor, a protein that lengthens the survival of nerve cells, may reduce nerve damage in diabetes patients, according to an article in the September issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This nerve damage, called neuropathy, is common in diabetes patients and often results in loss of sensation, primarily in the feet. Symptoms can include pain, numbness or burning and loss of coordination. Patients can lose the ability to feel heat, cold or pain, and may not notice injuries to the feet.
Infections can develop, and are sometimes serious enough to require amputation.
Right now we can only treat the symptoms, we can't treat the neuropathy itself. The study involved 250 people with diabetic neuropathy, age 18 to 60, from 15 sites around the country. All received injections three times per week for six months. Those patients taking the drug were more responsive to heat, cold and other sensations compared to those receiving a placebo. When asked whether their symptoms had improved during the study, about 75 percent of those receiving the drug responded positively, compared to 49 percent of those on placebo.