We analyzed the composition of fatty acids in blood plasma of teenagers suffering from polyneuropathy and microangiopathy developed against the background of type 1 diabetes mellitus. It was found that the normalized contents of oleic (monounsaturated) and palmitic (saturated) fatty acids increase in this case, while the levels of stearic (saturated) and linoleic (polyunsaturated) acids decrease, as compared to the norm. These shifts can be related to intensification of release of lipids from adipose tissues and result in disorders of the metabolic processes in nerve cells (first of all, in their membranes). Changes in the balance of fatty acids in erythrocytes of the examined patients appeared as a decrease in the level of saturated stearic acid and increases in the levels of saturated palmitic and polyunsaturated linoleic acids. A relative decrease in the sum of levels of dihomo-γ-linolenic and docosahexaenoic polyunsaturated fatty acids was also found. The observed changes in the composition of the cell membranes (those of erythrocytes) can be indicative of the existence of systemic cellular membranopathy under conditions of the above-mentioned pathologies. Decreased activities of Δ6- and Δ5-desaturases under conditions of insulin deficiency can be one of the reasons for these disorders.
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Osipenko, A.N., Orlov, D.A. & Akulich, N.V. Changes in the Fatty Acid Composition under Conditions of Polyneuropathy Related to Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus . Neurophysiology 44, 487–489 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-012-9323-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-012-9323-8