Experts attending P&G Health's Global Webinar Series highlight underdiagnosis concerns as Peripheral Neuropathy becomes more prevalent

- Often underestimated and diagnosed late, increasing awareness and early-stage screening of Peripheral Neuropathy by primary care physicians can help prevent long-term complications and quality of life restrictions.

- The Global Webinar Series for healthcare professionals has 'Virtual Pavilions' presenting Peripheral Neuropathy issues in various countries, along with best clinical practices, patient case discussions, and expert panels.

SINGAPORE, May 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare professionals have indicated that Peripheral Neuropathy's growing prevalence in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region will have significant implications if left unchecked. Attending the Global Webinar Series organized by P&G Health (NYSE:PG), medical experts shared details about recent scientific updates and clinical insights in the space of nerve health, brought to life with patient case discussions. P&G Health is commemorating Neuropathy Awareness Week 2022 across the region with a slew of educational activities for healthcare professionals.

Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) is a chronic clinical condition, wherein the peripheral nervous system is damaged. Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include numbness, tingling, prickling, and burning sensations in the hands and feet, impacting patients' quality of life including reduced physical abilities and poor sleep. With Diabetes Mellitus being the leading cause^[1] of peripheral neuropathy, the increasing prevalence of Peripheral Neuropathy is closely linked to the rise in the number of diabetic patients. In 2021, there were 393 million diabetic patients in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and African regions with projections of there being up to 603 million diabetic patients in these regions by 2045^[2]. It is estimated that almost 50% of patients with diabetes may suffer from PN during their lifetime^[3].

"P&G Health's Global Webinar Series saw engaging exchanges of scientific research and clinical insights from Health Experts across the region. With increasing diabetic and aging population in the region, there is an urgent need to inform and educate more than 200 million consumers about Peripheral Neuropathy. Commemorating Neuropathy Awareness Week across 18 countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East, India, and Africa is the first step towards an ongoing effort to bring the entire ecosystem together to collectively discuss the condition, address challenges, and enable the community to take mitigative steps," commented Aalok Agrawal, Senior Vice President, P&G Health – Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, and Africa.

"P&G Health, in partnership with its network of international experts and medical associations is organizing this Global Webinar Series as part of its commemoration of Neuropathy Awareness Week. Leveraging an interactive, 3D virtual platform, 10 virtual pavilions signifying countries across Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa and even as far as Brazil are represented. Each pavilion provides a platform for content sharing relevant to issues faced in each of the regions, best practices, case studies, as well as expert Q&A panels for robust discussions about PN. It is aimed at a wide spectrum of healthcare professionals including neurologists, diabetologists, GPs, and pharmacists amongst others to help build the awareness required to help better treat patients with Peripheral Neuropathy, improve clinical outcomes, and hence their quality of life," said Dr Ashley Barlow, Senior Director, Medical & Technical Affairs, P&G Health – Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, and Africa.

The following key themes were highlighted during the Global Webinar Series:

1. The need for early diagnosis of PN: PN is often recognized too late, which makes it hard to prevent long-term complications and quality of life restrictions.

2. 5 steps to diagnosing PN: Leveraging best clinical practices, a 5-step guide to diagnose PN^[4] has been shared to healthcare professionals attending NAW Global Webinar Series. 

3. The importance of timely treatment of PN: Nerve regeneration and repair to combat PN is possible but only if less than 50% of nerve fibers are damaged ("point of no return")^[5], which makes early detection and timely treatment priority.

"At the P&G Health Global Webinar Series for Neuropathy Awareness Week, I shared how Peripheral Neuropathy is the Cinderella complication in people with Diabetes Mellitus. The unfortunate reality is that despite being the costliest complication, Peripheral Neuropathy ranks lower in terms of importance compared to other complications in diabetic patients. Currently advocated diagnostic tests can only detect moderate to severe PN. An increasing number of studies have shown that the new objective technique of Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) can help to diagnose early PN, predict progression to clinical neuropathy and identify nerve repair after an improvement in risk factors such as weight, hyperglycemia, and lipids", stated Professor Rayaz A. Malik, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, speaker at the Global Webinar Series.

"Peripheral Neuropathy's impact on a patient's quality of life can be quite pronounced. Within the eco-system, healthcare professionals play a key role in increasing awareness and educating patients on the importance of nerve health. I presented how this can be done using neurotropic B vitamins and the benefits it provides patients. By coming together to engage in discourse through events such as the P&G Health Global Webinar Series for Neuropathy Awareness Week, we can all do our part to encourage the public to care for their nerves," commented Dr. Arabinda Mukherjee, Professor of Neurology, Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, speaker at the Global Webinar Series.

The Global Webinar Series is part of P&G Health's 'Feel Life' campaign commemorating Neuropathy Awareness week 2022 with a slew of activities to shed light on Peripheral Neuropathy, educate the public on the importance of nerve health, and provide tips on mitigating the effects of the condition.

For more information on the Global Webinar Series, please refer to this link: bit.ly/NAW22GlobalWebinars 

^[1] Landmann G. Ars Medici. 2013;1: 18-21

^[2] IDF Diabetes Atlas. 10th edition, 2021

^[3] Hicks CW et. al, Curr Diab Rep (2019) 19:86

^[4] Malik RA, et al. J Diabetes Investig 2020 11(5): 1097-1103

^[5] Nix et. al. Muscles, Nerves and Pain, 2017 (146)

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