Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease defined by persistently increased blood glucose levels with fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dl, random plasma glucose ≥ 200mg/dl and HbA1c ≥ 6.5%.~Diabetes has emerged as a great socioeconomic burden for the developing world. In 2017, globally, 451 million people were affected with diabetes. In Pakistan, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is 16.98% which differs significantly with age, education, body mass index (BMI), obesity, family history and blood pressure. DM is classified into type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). T1D occurs due to an autoimmune pancreatic beta cell destruction with consequent insulin deficiency whereas T2D occurs due to predominantly insulin resistance with relative insulin deficiency or defective secretion. T2D cause serious and chronic microvascular and macrovascular complications. One of the most prevalent microvascular complication is diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). DPN is defined as distal, symmetric sensorimotor polyneuropathy as a result of hyperglycemia and microangiopathy. It is a demyelinating disease of peripheral nerve fibers that manifests as parasthesias, impairment of sensations of vibration, proprioception, touch, pressure, pain and temperature.~Risk factors of DPN are age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c >7.0%, increased BMI, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia. Treatment of T2D is targeted towards good glycemic control that includes life style modifications i.e. diet and exercise, oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) and subcutaneous insulin administration. In life style modification, variety of exercises are recommended that help to slow the progression of peripheral neuropathy.These include; aerobic training, weight-bearing, static and dynamic balance training and strength training exercises which improve the gait speed, stride length and nerve conduction velocities (NCVs) of sensory and motor nerves while flexibility exercises improve the range-of-motion in ankle, hip and shoulder joints and keep them flexible. Importance of dietary modification is enhanced if it is synchronized with the circadian rhythm of the body. Therefore, Synchronized Lifestyle Modification Program (SLP) is a personalized, homeostasis restoring, liver centric lifestyle modification program that works through the correction of body clock rhythm. Lifestyle medicine is defined as the discipline of studying how daily habits and practices impact both on the prevention and treatment of disease. Its key aspects are: regular physical activity, proper nutrition, weight management, avoiding tobacco and a sound mental health. Lifestyle modification in diabetics is believed to enhance the function of pancreatic islet cells and induce glucose-stimulated insulin release.Regarding pharmacological treatment, following OHAs are used which are; biguanides, insulin secretagogues, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors and sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors. Now a days, an injectable agent i.e. Glucagon like peptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonist is used with OHAs and is effective in decreasing blood glucose levels with a low risk of hypoglycemia in elderly patients.~Limited data is available which supports the combined effect of Synchronized Lifestyle modification Program (SLP) and Physiotherapy in the progression of DPN in T2D patients taking OHAs and GLP-1.
The aim of this study is to determine the combined effect of SLP along with Physiotherapy in improving Type 2 DPN patients taking OHAs and GLP-1 analogues.