Diabetic encephalopathy: symptoms, signs, prevention and treatment features

Diabetic encephalopathy is a lesion of some structures in the brain. This occurs as a result of disorders in the metabolism and in the vascular system that arise and develop with a disease such as diabetes.

This ailment is not an independent pathology, as it can develop only as a result of already existing disorders in the functioning of the body.

Who gets sick more often?

According to statistical research, the most common type of diabetics suffer from Type I diabetics. And, depending on the statistical sample, the frequency of this disease can reach 80%.

A feature of DE is the complexity of its differentiation with other types of encephalopathy.

Causes

Diabetic encephalopathy can develop for several fundamental reasons:

• Microangiopathy. It is a process in which a violation in the stability of the walls and permeability of the vessels of small arteries, as well as capillaries, develops.
• Metabolic disorders, leading to a process of damage in nerve fibers and cells.

Pathological causes

In addition to the main reasons for the development of the disease, there are also pathological factors that aggravate diabetes and lead to the development of DE. To them it is possible to carry:

• Age of the patient (senile and elderly).
• The presence of obesity, which leads to an excess of body weight.
• Violation of lipid metabolism, as well as atherosclerotic manifestations.
• Persistent increased blood glucose levels.

The main kill factor

However, in the formation of diabetic encephalopathy (ICD-10), microangiopathy is the main killer. As a result, nerve fibers and cells undergo oxygen and energy starvation. Due to this starvation the organism is forced to switch to the path of anaerobic production of vital substances for its functioning. This process is not so effective and as a result of it toxins and other harmful substances accumulate in the brain cells. It is under their influence and there is irreversible damage to the brain.

Existing metabolism disorders in the body exacerbate the resulting condition, and also catalyze the restructuring of nerve fibers. That, in turn, contributes to the process of slowing the transmission of nerve impulses.

Clinical manifestations

Clinical manifestations of diabetic encephalopathy (ICD-10) require a long time for their development. It is for this reason that DE is most often diagnosed in patients of senile age. In rare cases, encephalopathy can develop rapidly against a background of a stroke of the brain, or in acute hypo or hyperglycemic conditions.

Symptoms

Unfortunately, diabetic encephalopathy is not accompanied by any specific symptoms, which makes it difficult to diagnose and differentiate it. This type of encephalopathy can be accompanied by such symptoms, which are also characteristic of atherosclerosis or hypertension.

A patient who has a suspicion of DE may suffer from such symptoms as:

• Headaches - can have different severity and manifest as a minor ailment, and in the form of a feeling of raspiraniya or squeezing.
• Asthenic syndrome can be expressed in the form of weakness, irritability, impaired concentration, as well as mental lability and increased emotionality.
• Manifestations of a neurological nature - a patient can have an unsteady gait, feel a feeling of dizziness and noise in the ears.
• Disorders in the work of higher functions of the brain. The patient may experience memory impairments and minor motility, difficulty in perceiving information, loss of reading ability, manifestation of depression and apathy.
• Another symptom of diabetic encephalopathy is the state of syncope and convulsive syndrome. Moreover, convulsions can manifest themselves both localized and generalized.

As a rule, the patient is not always able to adequately assess his condition, so it will not be superfluous to use serious diagnostic search, as well as help from relatives and friends.

Manifestations of DE

At the initial stage of the disease, its signs are little pronounced. Therefore, it is often difficult for a patient to respond when the first symptoms appear.

Experts consider the primary manifestations of diabetic encephalopathy to be subtle disturbances in memory, problems with falling asleep, and changes in psycho-emotional status.

These violations can be explained by the fact that the brain has to work in conditions of lack of energy and oxygen. In such conditions, nerve cells are not able to work fully and the mechanisms of compensatory arthritis begin to appear. However, if these mechanisms are involved for a long time, they fail, leading to a process of accumulation of toxins in the brain.

Stages of development of encephalopathy in diabetics

The disease has several stages, and the patient does not feel any symptoms in the first stage. Only when the disease develops and passes to the second stage, the first signs appear:

• At the first stage. There are practically no manifestations. Unstable blood pressure, the occurrence of mild ailment, dizziness often symptoms are confused with the manifestation of vegetative-vascular dystonia. A neurologist is the most visited specialist at this stage.
• At the second stage. The head starts to hurt, the orientation is disturbed, the neurological status becomes more pronounced.
• In the third stage, the symptoms are pronounced. The cerebral circulation worsens significantly. The head hurts, there is a shakiness of a gait, a giddiness, the general delicacy, a sleeplessness. There is often a presyncope.

Syndromes of the ailment under consideration

Diabetic encephalopathy in the ICD with code 10 is manifested in the form of several syndromes, which can be called the main ones:

• Asthenic syndrome. It is characterized by a state of general weakness, lethargy and rapid fatigue. Often this syndrome is one of the first. Also, the patient with asthenic syndrome experiences disability, may be excessively irritable and emotionally unstable.
• Cephalgic syndrome. DE can be accompanied by a headache of varying intensity. If you rely on the descriptions of the patients themselves, then in some, it can manifest as compression or tightening like a "ring", in others it is similar to migraine sensations, in others it manifests itself as a feeling of heaviness in the head. Some patients generally note that the headache is quite easy.
• Vegetative dystonia. This syndrome occurs in the overwhelming majority of cases of manifestation of DE. Dystonia manifests itself in the form of a feeling of heat, fainting and a pre-stupor condition. In addition, autonomic dystonia can be characterized by disorders such as anisocoria (when the pupil has different sizes in the patient), convergent disorders (difficulty in moving the eyeballs), pyramidal disorders (eg, paralysis). The patient may also suffer from vestibular-ataxic symptoms, such as, for example, uncertain gait or dizziness.
• Cognitive disorders. This syndrome of diabetic encephalopathy with code 10 is characterized by memory impairments, general retardation, inability to absorb information. Can contribute to the development of depressive and apathetic conditions.
• The final stage. This stage of the disease can be characterized by pronounced disorders of all parts of the nervous system. The patient has impaired motor activity, there are critical attacks of headaches and convulsive syndromes, the sensitivity of different parts of the body is disturbed, painful sensations appear in the liver, kidneys and other organs.

Treatment

Treatment of diabetic encephalopathy can be divided into three main areas:

1. Maintaining an adequate level of sugar in the blood. It is keeping blood glucose level at the required level is the main method of treatment and prevention of DE. Doctors are also advised not to neglect prophylactic therapy. This makes it possible to improve the blood supply to the nervous system and trophic tissues.
2. Treatment of metabolic disorders. With this type of therapy, doctors recommend taking antioxidants (for example, "Espa-lipon"), vitamins A, E, C and B. Also, patients are prescribed cerebroprotectors ("Piracetam", etc.).
3. Treatment of microangiopathy. Vascular disorders are corrected by "Pentoxifylline", which normalizes the blood flow in the body and reduces the viscosity of the blood. This drug perfectly copes with the task of removing toxins from the patient's brain.

Along with this, doctors everywhere use for the treatment of angiopathy such drugs as "Cavinton", "Sermion", "Vinpocetine" and others.