Merlin Emma, Salio Chiara, Ferrini Francesco
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy.
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1K 7P4, Canada.
Cells. 2024 Dec 7;13(23):2024. doi: 10.3390/cells13232024.
Diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease associated with high blood glucose levels. Several co-morbidities arise from diabetes, the most common and severe one is diabetic neuropathy whose symptoms also include pain hypersensitivity. Currently, there are no effective therapies to counteract painful diabetic neuropathy or slow down the progression of the disease, and the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. Emerging data in recent decades have provided compelling evidence that the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying chronic pain are different across the sexes. Interestingly, relevant differences have also been observed in the course and clinical presentation of painful diabetic neuropathy in humans. Here, we reviewed the current state of the art on sex differences in diabetic neuropathy, from animal models to clinical data. Comparing the output of both preclinical and clinical studies is necessary for properly orienting future choices in pain research, refining animal models, and interpreting clinical data. The identification of sex-specific mechanisms may help to develop more targeted therapies to counteract pain symptoms in diabetes.
糖尿病是一种与高血糖水平相关的慢性进行性疾病。糖尿病会引发多种合并症，其中最常见且最严重的是糖尿病性神经病变，其症状还包括痛觉过敏。目前，尚无有效的疗法来对抗疼痛性糖尿病神经病变或减缓疾病进展，其潜在机制也尚未完全明确。近几十年来出现的数据提供了令人信服的证据，表明慢性疼痛背后的分子和细胞机制在性别上存在差异。有趣的是，在人类疼痛性糖尿病神经病变的病程和临床表现中也观察到了相关差异。在此，我们综述了从动物模型到临床数据的糖尿病神经病变性别差异的当前研究现状。比较临床前和临床研究的结果对于正确指导疼痛研究的未来选择、完善动物模型以及解释临床数据是必要的。识别性别特异性机制可能有助于开发更具针对性的疗法来对抗糖尿病中的疼痛症状。
