The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide paralleling the rise in obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and increased life expectancy. It is estimated that globally 382 million people live with diabetes and the International Diabetes Federation expects this number to rise to 592 million by 2035. Diabetes patients are at increased risk of developing microvascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic nephropathy (DN), and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), which are all major causes of morbidity and deaths.

Among these complications, diabetic peripheral neuropathy is the most common and costly complication of diabetes, leading to painful neuropathy and significantly increased risk of foot ulceration and amputation. DPN is often asymptomatic during the early stages, and once established, it may be difficult to reverse. Early diagnosis and timely intervention are thus essential in preventing its development. Whereas measurement of urinary albumin excretion and fundoscopic examinations serve as objective tests for early nephropathy and retinopathy in patients with diabetes, a comparably objective test, unbiased by the need for the patient’s subjective response, is lacking for DPN. There exists an urgent need to identify the most accurate early biomarker of nerve damage to better diagnose DPN in the clinical care of patients and, in particular, to permit an accurate evaluation of future therapies in clinical trials.

We invite investigators to submit original research articles and reviews to this special issue. We are interested in articles that explore new advances in pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of diabetic neuropathy in clinical studies and also new advances in experimental and animal models.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Pathogenesis
• Prevalence
• Screening
• Diagnosis and development of new markers
• Complications in children and adolescents with diabetes
• Management
• Experimental models for diabetic neuropathy