Skin care, Dermatology and Allergic Diseases

Diabetes and Skin complications

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The complications of diabetes mellitus are far less common and less severe in people who have well-controlled blood sugar levels. Wider health problems accelerate the deleterious effects of diabetes. These include smoking, elevated cholesterol levels, obesity, high blood pressure, and lack of regular exercise. Reduced sympathoadrenal responses can cause hypoglycemia unawareness. The concept of hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure (HAAF) in diabetes posits that a recent incident of hypoglycemia causes both defective glucose counter regulation and hypoglycemia unawareness. By shifting glycaemic thresholds for the sympathoadrenal and the resulting neurogenic responses to lower plasma glucose concentrations, antecedent hypoglycemia leads to a vicious cycle of recurrent hypoglycemia and further impairment of glucose counter regulation. In many cases, short-term avoidance of hypoglycemia reverses hypoglycemia unawareness in affected patients, although this is easier in theory than in clinical experience.