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A Synoptic Overview of Neurovascular Interactions in the Foot

Balasubramanian, Gayathri, VAS, Prashanth, CHOCKALINGAM, Nachiappan and NAEMI, Roozbeh (2020) A Synoptic Overview of Neurovascular Interactions in the Foot. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 11. ISSN 1664-2392

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Abstract or description

Diabetes is a worldwide public health concern as it is associated with various complications. One of the major complications of diabetes is diabetic foot syndrome that results in catastrophic events such as ulceration and amputation. Therefore, the main four strategies of diabetic foot care involve risk prediction, prevention, and early diagnosis and prompt intervention. The drivers of ulceration are multifactorial, and importantly, include microcirculatory changes in the diabetic skin. Cutaneous microcirculation on the foot is greatly influenced by the small fibers which mediate thermal sensation and pain perception in addition to sympathetic activities such as thermoregulation and vasodilation. The interdependence between the neurovascular elements means with the loss of small fiber functions, the corresponding microcirculatory responses may be compromised. Thus, it can be hypothesized that the impairment of the microcirculation may follow the order of the corresponding small fiber nerve dysfunction or vice versa. In this review, select neurovascular investigations that inform the cutaneous microcirculatory and small fiber nerve function in response to pain, cold, and heat and pressure stimuli are reviewed and discussed in this order of sensory loss: the loss of pain, cold, warmth, touch and deep pressure sensation. We also discuss the neurological and vascular characteristics of each of these neurovascular responses. This review highlights the influence of small fibers on cutaneous microcirculation and the need for prospective studies that can determine the course of microcirculatory impairment over time. This, in turn, may help clarify the exact role of microcirculatory changes in the pathway of ulceration. The insights from this review can be pertinent to understand key microcirculatory disturbances and given that the microcirculatory impairment develops at an early stage, relevant interventions can be implemented to possibly reverse or regress the course of the disease. Therefore, knowledge of the neurovascular interactions aids to map the disease progression for early diagnosis and prevention of adverse complications.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © 2020 Balasubramanian, Vas, Chockalingam and Naemi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Uncontrolled Keywords: neurovascular, small fibers, small fiber nerve, microcirculation, diabetic neuropathy, foot
Faculty: School of Life Sciences and Education > Sport and Exercise
Depositing User: Roozbeh NAEMI
Date Deposited: 06 Aug 2021 14:39
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2023 14:02
Related URLs:
URI: https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/6992

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