Why does high blood sugar levels in diabetics cause nerve damage and increase risk of infections?

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Why does high blood sugar levels in diabetics cause nerve damage and increase risk of infections?

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When sugar levels are high as in diabetes, firstly, there is a thickening of the capillary basement and the endothelial walls of the blood vessels undergo hyperplasia, that is it becomes bigger. Therefore the microcirculation is able to carry less oxygen to various tissues including the nerves. As for the risk of infections, due to the decrease in oxygen circulation as well as the diminishing ability of the microvascular circulation, an small infection that usually begins in the foot is not cleared as soon as possible. This is due to the fact also that there is decreased sensation in the foot area as a result of nerve damage (neuropathy). Therefore the foot becomes gangrenous.

As for neuropathy, there are 3 suggested causes. One as mentioned before as the decreasing blood circulation and oxygen supply. Secondly, the increase in sugars in the neurones causes the reduction of its antioxidant capacity. Therefore this results in oxidative damage. Thirdly, the increase is glucose also results in the increase in intracellular calcium by a signalling process. This results in neuronal cell death. Hope this answers your question!

Others
... and eye damage and amputations and death. For diabetics, sugar ain't sweet.

"In people with diabetes, sugar (glucose) accumulates in the blood to very high levels. The excess glucose can attach to proteins in the blood vessels and alter their normal structure and function. One effect of this is that the vessels become thicker and less elastic, making it hard for blood to squeeze through."
http://www.genetichealth.com/dbts_conseq...
coz of poor circulation its called neuropathy.this condition can be improved by taking b1 b6 b12 in injection form trade name is neurobion just try it twice in a weak fr 6 weaks
about more than 16%are the people having the sugar in the world and many people dont have the prompt knowlede of the desease.
good question.
# 1 High suger level will interact with the SORBITOL found in nerve sheath damaging the nerve sheathes & by so making the impulse transmission across the nerve slower & slower.
# 2 Regarding infection, I dont really have clear answer but diabetes in general lower the immunity but how it lowers the immunity, I really don't know.
Unfortunately, the best controlled diabetics get nerve, kidney and retinal problems as often as the poorly controlled. The high blood sugar does not do it.
Doc8 brings up a valid point. The problem has really more to do with diabetic honesty. There are diabetics out there that proclaim to be perfect, keeping their blood sugars at optimum levels, blah blah blah. We all know this is a bunch of crap. These are the ones going hypo all the time. Then there are some that could care less and eat whatever they want, and take their insulin inappropriately or get drunk. Then there are many that rely totally on their doctor to control their lives, insulin, and intake. These people scare me. It's fine to use your doctor to tune you up, but to get on in life, you have to use your own brain for a substitute pancreas.

There are way too many parameters, including plain old genetics, involved to say that good diabetics don't get problems and bad diabetics do. Clinical research tends to indicate that good diabetics have less problems, but the evidence is not overwhelmingly tipped in this direction. Once again, MANY parameters are involved.

I've had a few problems develop; however, I addressed them and corrected them. There are solutions.

One can be a good diabetic at a certain life stage and a bad diabetic at another. Problems develop over a lifetime, some more rapidly than others. I have noticed statistically that type 2's tend to have more problems than type 1's. Type 2's have more denial issues and resistance to change, or just don't or don't want to understand the whole insulin, activity, and carbohydrate balancing act. My dad and uncle in law were like this, getting type 2 in their late 50's. There are type 1's like this also, but usually are kids during this stage and eventually 'get' the balancing act. It took me 2 hospitalized comas to 'get' it.

Your body often adapts to certain conditions and gives warning signs. Learn your own signs, and be elastic. If your body is used to only one condition or blood sugar level, if a hard change occurs, hard damage occurs if there is no elasticity.