Premium
Diabetes and foot infection: more than double trouble
Author(s) -
Richard JeanLouis,
Lavigne JeanPhilippe,
Sotto Albert
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
diabetes/metabolism research and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.307
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1520-7560
pISSN - 1520-7552
DOI - 10.1002/dmrr.2234
Subject(s) - virulence , diabetic foot , foot (prosody) , diabetes mellitus , intensive care medicine , medicine , immune system , host (biology) , immunology , biology , ecology , genetics , gene , linguistics , philosophy , endocrinology
Summary Background Infection of foot ulcers is a common, often severe and costly complication in diabetes. Many factors linked to the host, mainly immune defects, neuropathy and arteriopathy, as well as bacteria‐related factors, interact in a complex way and account for the susceptibility of diabetic individuals to foot infections, the severity of such infections and difficulty to treat them. Methods This article reviews these factors, in the light of data from the literature and from our own results. Results DFIs are not as simple as previously suggested, and new concepts must be considered, especially the virulence potential of isolates and bacterial communications through biofilms. Conclusion The development of new tools from molecular biology is a critical step to better understand and manage these infections. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.