Diabetic neuropathy is a

Diabetic neuropathy causes substantial morbidity and increases moality. It is diagnosed on the basis of symptoms and signs, after the exclusion of other causes of neuropathy . Depending on the criteria used for diagnosis, it affects between 50% and 90% of patients with diabetes, and of these, 15-30% will have painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN). Like retinopathy, neuropathy occurs secondary to metabolic disturbance, and prevalence is related to the duration of diabetes and the degree of metabolic control. Pathological features can occur in any peripheral nerves. They include axonal degeneration of both myelinated and unmyelinated fibres, with thickening of the Schwann cell basal lamina, patchy segmental demyelination and abnormal intraneural capillaries (with basement membrane thickening and microthrombi). Ref - Davidsosn 23e p780