Diabetes is a medical condition that can significantly damage your health by allowing glucose from food sources to build up abnormally in your bloodstream. Muscle-related effects of the condition can stem from a form of nerve damage called peripheral neuropathy. The effects can also stem from the increased production of a muscle-inhibiting protein called myostatin.
Peripheral Neuropathy
In addition to prolonged exposure to high blood glucose, potential factors in the development of diabetes-related nerve damage include genetic predisposition, autoimmune nerve inflammation, blood vessel damage and lifestyle choices such as alcohol use and smoking. In the case of peripheral neuropathy, nerve damage in your hands or feet can lead to abnormal muscle weakness and decreases in your motor reflexes. Additional common symptoms of the disorder include numbness, pain, insensitivity to temperature changes or pain, oversensitivity to any stimulus, loss of coordination or balance and sensations such as prickling, tingling or burning.
Insulin Resistance
Glucose in your bloodstream is normally absorbed into the interiors of your muscles and other body cells with the help of a hormone called insulin. However, in individuals with a pre-diabetic disorder called insulin resistance, insulin doesn't properly trigger glucose absorption. This causes glucose levels to abnormally build up in the blood. Without their normal glucose supply, the muscles in your body can react as if they're starving. As a result, this reaction triggers an increase in the production of muscle-inhibiting myostatin, according to a study published in the American Diabetes Association journal "Diabetes." This process eventually results in an overall loss of muscle mass.
Muscle-Loss Effects
In times of actual starvation, the muscle-limiting effects of myostatin can help increase your survival chances by decreasing your overall calorie needs, Dr. Dustin Hittel of the University of Calgary reports. But if you have insulin resistance, loss of muscle mass can substantially decrease your ability to properly manage your blood glucose with regular exercise. In turn, lack of proper blood glucose management greatly increases the chances of insulin resistance. This could eventually lead to type-2 diabetes.
Prevention and Considerations
If you have diabetes, you can help prevent the onset of peripheral neuropathy by following your established treatment plan and keeping your blood glucose within acceptable levels, the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse reports. If you have insulin resistance, you can potentially avoid the onset of type-2 diabetes by increasing your level of physical activity and losing any excess body weight. Consult your doctor for more information on diet and activity plans that suit your diabetes prevention goals.
References
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: Diabetic Neuropathies: The Nerve Damage of Diabetes
- Medical News Today: Muscle in Obese People and Type 2 Diabetes May Be Conspiring Against Them
- "Diabetes": Increased Secretion and Expression of Myostatin in Skeletal Muscle From Extremely Obese Women
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: Insulin Resistance and Pre-Diabetes
