Diabetic neuropathy is a decrease in nerve function typically affecting the lower limbs in people and animals with diabetes. The peripheral nerves become damaged by persistently elevated blood sugar levels. Diabetes, whether Type I (juvenile) or Type II (adult-onset), very often leads to diabetic neuropathy.

In addition to muscle weakness, depressed reflexes, and disturbances in gait or balance, the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy in humans (and presumably in other animals) typically include sensations of numbness, tingling, burning, or shooting pains. As the nerves continue to degenerate, sensation can become completely lost; as a result, minor injuries to the feet may go unnoticed. At the same time, damage to the autonomic nervous system results in impaired circulation, so that wounds don’t heal properly. Minor injuries can quickly become major ones and often lead to gangrene, for which the conventional treatment is amputation — of the toes or even the entire foot.

Fortunately, there are nutritional therapies for diabetic neuropathy, one of the best of which is methyl-B12. Effective treatment of diabetic neuropathy has reportedly been achieved with methyl-B12 injected directly into the spinal cord — an experimental procedure done only in a hospital setting. However, according to another study, the same beneficial results can also be obtained with oral supplements of methyl-B12 in large doses. ² People have reported getting relief from 3 to 9 mg per day of methyl-B12 (in this case, LifeLink’s “Xobaline” product, a.k.a. “methylcobalamine”). Methyl-B12 can halt degeneration of peripheral nerves, improve or eliminate painful sensations, and in some cases even restore sensation to limbs which have previously gone completely numb.

The mechanism for these benefits is not yet well understood. Specific nerves may be deficient in methyl-B12 even when the body as a whole has no vitamin B12 deficiency. ^3, 4 Thus, a clear rationale exists for supplementing with methyl-B12 rather than with other forms of the vitamin, such as cyanocobalamin.

In certain neurological conditions — such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and AIDS-related dementia — nerve cells are thought to be exposed to excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter glutamate, resulting in neurotoxicity. ⁵ Recently high-dose methyl-B12 has been shown to diminish glutamate-related neurotoxicity in animals. ⁶ Peripheral neuropathic pain is similarly associated with activation of glutamate receptors in the spinal cord. ⁷ Hence, by regulating neural signaling in the spinal cord, methyl-B12 may be beneficial in diabetic neuropathy.

Diabetes afflicts animals as well as humans, so it’s not surprising that cats and dogs can also suffer from diabetic neuropathy. As in humans, diabetes in cats is caused either by inadequate production of insulin by the pancreas (Type 1 diabetes) or by impaired response of cells to insulin (Type 2 diabetes). Although diabetes can strike cats of any age, it typically occurs in older, fatter animals. Diabetic neuropathy in cats usually produces progressive weakness in the hind legs and walking on the hocks (the back part of the legs) rather than on the toes. Cats so afflicted become incapable of climbing stairs or trees and lose the ability to jump to higher surfaces. Often they can’t take more than a few steps without the hind legs sliding out from under them. They also seem to tire quickly and tend to rest after taking short walks.

The folks at LifeLink say that they have become aware that many people are treating their diabetic cats with LifeLink’s methyl-B12 product “Xobaline”, apparently with great success. ⁸ A single 3-mg Xobaline tablet per day appears to reverse most or all of the symptoms of feline diabetic neuropathy within a few weeks. Although Xobaline is intended as a sublingual supplement for humans, it seems to work fine when given to cats the same way as any other pill. ⁸

Diabetic neuropathy is less common in dogs than in cats, but it does occur. A few people have probably tried using methyl-B12 to treat canine neuropathy, but an Internet search turned up no information.

[Editor’s note: In the United States, FDA (Food & Drug Administration) restrictions prohibit supplement companies from advocating the medical use of their products for animals, regardless of how effective they may be. The task of disseminating what is known about such subjects therefore falls to the free press (such as The Delano Report), which is protected from government censorship by free-speech provisions of the U.S. Constitution.]