A diet high in amino acids reduced diabetes-related nerve pain in mice

Eating extra of the amino acids serine and glycine decreased the quantity of nerve harm and ache in mice with diabetes

By Grace Wade

Dietary dietary supplements of the amino acid serine might ease diabetes-related nerve ache, in response to analysis in mice.

Nearly half of individuals with diabetes have neuropathy – a situation by which nerve harm causes weak point, ache and numbness, often within the fingers and toes.

Christian Metallo on the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, and his colleagues measured ranges of protein-building molecules known as amino acids in overweight mice genetically engineered to have both sort 1 or sort 2 diabetes.

They discovered that, in contrast with mice with out both situation, these with diabetes had, on common, decrease ranges of the amino acids serine and glycine of their tissues and blood plasma. Further evaluation advised it’s because insulin is important for stopping the breakdown of these amino acids.

The workforce then fed 10 non-diabetic mice a eating regimen with out serine or glycine for a yr and 10 non-diabetic mice a typical eating regimen. On common, the mice within the first group have been slower to retract a paw from a heated laser than these within the different group, indicating better nerve harm. When considered below a microscope, their paws additionally had decreased nerve fibre density, suggesting that serine and glycine deficiencies contribute to neuropathy.

A separate group of 17 mice with sort 2 diabetes ate both a serine-enriched eating regimen or a typical eating regimen for eight weeks, after which, these within the serine group retracted their paw from the laser about 1 second sooner, on common, than these within the management group.

These findings counsel that rising serine ranges both by way of dietary dietary supplements or focused medicine might enhance the situation, says Metallo. However, folks with diabetic neuropathy shouldn’t rush to seize serine dietary supplements, as extra analysis is required to determine a secure dosage and potential uncomfortable side effects, he says. The researchers additionally checked out glycine supplementation in a separate research however haven’t printed the outcomes but.

The findings additionally counsel we might have to rethink how we view sure vitamins. “Serine and glycine are non-essential amino acids, so we consume them in our diet, but we can also produce them within the body,” says Metallo, which means ranges are not often monitored carefully. “But this highlights that the metabolism of non-essential amino acids can [also] cause defects.”