The Link between Viral Meningitis and Diabetes

Viral meningitis is an inflammation of meninges (protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) caused by viral infections. Diabetes is a chronic disorder that affects the way of your body to metabolize glucose. They are different type of health conditions. However, diabetes may have an effect on your risk to have infectious diseases including viral meningitis. Is there a link between the two?

Diabetes

Glucose (sugar in the blood) is the main source of your energy, though you can also get energy from fat and protein. It circulates in the circulation (bloodstream) so cells of your body can absorb and use it for energy. Mainly, it comes from the food you eat.

Insulin, a chemical /hormone released by your pancreas, is responsible to control the amounts of glucose in the blood. It can drive glucose from the circulation to easily enter into the cells of the body. During or after eating, for example, your blood glucose level increases significantly. But soon your pancreas releases more insulin to decreases the level.

The problem occurs when the body cannot use glucose effectively. Having diabetes means that your blood glucose level is higher than normal. Too much glucose in the blood can be very dangerous or even life-threatening.

In people with diabetes, there is something wrong with their insulin. Type-2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes, is usually associated with the lack of insulin released by the pancreas – or the body’s cells are more resistant to the action of insulin.

Type-1 diabetes is much less common than type-2. In general, it is more difficult to manage since the pancreas can lose its function to produce insulin. In the worst scenario, the pancreas cannot make any insulin. Therefore it’s also called ‘insulin-dependent diabetes’ – it often requires insulin therapy.

How does viral meningitis occur?

There are several types of meningitis, and the most common one is viral meningitis. But though viral meningitis is common, it’s often less serious. Even many times, it can naturally heal in time without leaving lingering after effects (typically, hospitalization is not required).

It can strike anytime, though mostly it occurs in the late summer and during fall. Since it has flu-like symptoms, you may mistakenly identify it for the flu. The symptoms are usually mild, these include; bright-light sensitivity, headache, stiff neck, fatigue, and nausea.

There are several viruses that can lead to infection and inflammation of meninges. But in most cases, viral meningitis is caused by a group of viruses called ‘enteroviruses’.

Many of these viruses can spread (contagious). But though viral meningitis is contagious, actually it’s not easy to be passed from person to person.

Enteroviruses, for example, can be easily transmitted between people. The good news, only a small number of people infected with these viruses will develop meningitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The same goes for viruses that cause viral gastroenteritis – most people who get infected by these viruses don’t get meningitis.

Another infectious-type of meningitis is bacterial meningitis. Though it’s less common, but it can be a very serious infectious disease (this is particularly true if you don’t get prompt treatment immediately).  Sometimes the symptoms can be similar to those of viral meningitis, but more severe and progress aggressively (see more the symptoms in here).

Viral meningitis and diabetes

It seems that the risk of developing viral meningitis varies for each person. One of the main reasons is the strength of your body’s immune system. In fact people with weakened immune system are at higher risk of having infectious disease, including meningitis.

Having certain conditions or taking medications that impair with your immune system can also increase the risk – AIDS, not working spleen, and taking immunosuppressant for examples. How about diabetes?

We know well that diabetes can significantly affect your metabolism, especially the way of the body to use glucose for energy. But did you know that it might also affect the body’s immune system? Even in type-1 diabetes, for example, the body’s immune system gets malfunctioned and mistakenly destroys insulin producing cells of pancreas.

The skin and urinary tract are the most common sites of infection in diabetics. Diabetes can also put you at higher risk of getting infectious meningitis such as viral meningitis, and this is especially true if you also have other meningitis risk factors such as:

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1. Age, young adults (younger than age 20) and young children under 5 years of age are more vulnerable to have the disease.
2. Skipping vaccinations for meningitis. Though vaccines don’t prevent all types of meningitis, but they work for some. Skipping these vaccinations increases the risk of getting the disease.
3. Some people born with ‘genetic-tendency’ to get the disease more easily.
4. Living in crowded conditions such as camps and crowded dormitories.

As mentioned before, type-1 diabetes impairs the function of pancreas, making it very poor to produce and release insulin – even sometimes the pancreas produces no insulin at all. The bad news, this kind of chronic diabetes is on the rise worldwide!

The way of how type-1 diabetes occurs is not known. But in general, experts think that it might be a consequence of different factors. Two important factors that may play a key role are genetic and environmental factors. The disease is likely to occur if you have certain genes that make you more likely to develop the disease, or/and if you’re exposed to certain environmental factor (something in the environment) that triggers the disease.

Interestingly there is also a theory that enterovirus (EV) infections, the common causes of viral meningitis, might have a role to trigger type-1 diabetes. The role of enterovirus (EV) infections has been suspected for many years. Unfortunately this link still remains puzzling.

Early diet factors, what ‘age’ you started consuming solid foods or whether you were breastfeed, may be another trigger.

Though viral meningitis is often mild and doesn’t cause serious complications, early diagnosis is important to make sure that the disease is not bacterial meningitis or another serious infectious disease.

Though in most cases viral meningitis is mild, sometimes treatment is necessary! For example, it sometimes could turn into serious in babies, elderly people, or someone with certain health conditions (especially some that weaken immune system).