Current views of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain comorbid depression – a review

K.-S. Wei, M.-Z. Gu, J.-W. Zhu, H.-C. Hu, L.-P. Yin

Department of Endocrinology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China. yinlp369@cdutcm.edu.cn

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• Metabolism

Diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) is defined as a pain directly caused by the abnormal somatosensory system in diabetics according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). The pain has a great impact on the quality of life of diabetic patients. It results in a decline of patients’ personal ability to live, which may even cause depression. Over time, the decline in both physical and psychosocial function caused by neuropathic pain may lead to further aggravation of depressive symptoms. This article mainly reviews the prevalence rate, medical expenditure, clinical characteristics, neurobiological features and the treatment of DPNP comorbidity depression, hoping to find the research directions for further study in the future.

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