Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is a major contributor for morbidity in diabetes; however, up to this day, there is a lack of sufficient strategies to prevent this disorder especially in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes (T2D). Specifically, it remains controversially discussed if a lowering of serum cholesterol has beneficial effects on the course of T2D DPN. Using in vivo high resolution magnetic resonance neurography in 100 type 2 diabetes patients with and without DPN, we found that lowering of serum cholesterol, especially lowering of LDL, is strongly associated with an increase in visible nerve damage. We further found a significant correlation between the amount of nerve damage and the patients’ statin dose. In T2D patients, this effect is potentially relevant for therapies that promote an aggressive lowering of serum cholesterol.
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