Uazman Alam

Senior Clinical Lecturer In Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease

Research and Interests

Dr Alam has a specialist clinical and research interest in painful diabetic neuropathy, small fibre neuropathy and neuropathic pain. His previous work has evaluated the role of vitamin D in relation to pain and the utility of novel surrogate markers in small fibre neuropathy. His research is primarily focused on surrogate end points for human diabetic neuropathy and other peripheral neuropathies. He has extensively evaluated the utility of skin biopsy and corneal confocal microscopy for the early diagnosis of small fibre neuropathy.

Biography

I obtained a BSc in Medical Science from the University of St. Andrews, and subsequently went onto the University of Manchester to study Medicine (MBChB) from which graduated in 2005. Part way through the MBChB, I completed an MSc in population Health (MPHe). During this period, I undertook evidence based reviews on treatments for painful diabetic neuropathy, which also formed my thesis. My Interest in neuropathic pain stemmed from this work. The genesis of my research education began whilst working on peripheral nerve histology in experimental rat and baboon models of diabetic neuropathy as a fourth year medical student. Prior to entering higher specialist training in Endocrinology and Diabetes, I pursued a PhD in Diabetic Neuropathy and Vitamin D at University of Manchester from which I graduated in 2014. During this time, I worked on large NIH and JDRF funded projects defining novel surrogate markers for small fibre neuropathy which have been published in leading journals such as Diabetes and Diabetes Care. My clinical and research expertise lie in pathogenesis, assessment and treatment of diabetic neuropathy and I have published over 30 journal papers in the last six years. I have presented on this both nationally and internationally.

I was appointed as a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Physician in Endocrinology and Diabetes in April 2017 at the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool. I am a member of the Royal College of Physicians, Diabetes UK and am a council member for Lipids, Metabolism and Vascular Risk section of the Royal Society of Medicine and a regular peer reviewer to several leading journals in the field of diabetes including, Obesity & Metabolism, Diabetic Medicine and Journal of Diabetes to name a few.

My work at University of Liverpool will continue to focus on non-invasive surrogate endpoint of peripheral neuropathies and skin biopsy.

Future/Ongoing studies

Investigating Diabetic Neuropathy During Initiation of Intensive Glycaemic Control
The Utility of Non-Invasive Ocular Imaging in Diabetic Foot Disease
The Impact of Gait in Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Recent publications

Alam U, Ponirakis G, Asghar O, Petropoulos IN, Azmi S, Jeziorska M, Marshall A, Boulton AJM, Efron N, Malik RA. Corneal Confocal Microscopy Identifies People with Type 1 Diabetes with More Rapid Corneal Nerve Fibre Loss and Progression of Neuropathy. J Clin Med. 2022 Apr 18;11(8):2249.

Alam U, Anson M, Meng Y, Preston F, Kirthi V, Jackson TL, Nderitu P, Cuthbertson DJ, Malik RA, Zheng Y, Petropoulos IN. Artificial Intelligence and Corneal Confocal Microscopy: The Start of a Beautiful Relationship. J Clin Med. 2022 Oct 20;11(20):6199.

Zhao SS, Holmes MV, Alam U. Chronic pain is associated with higher risk of developing and being hospitalized for COVID-19: a Mendelian randomization study. Rheumatology (Oxford, England). 2022;61(Si2):Si189-si190.

Tesfaye S, Sloan G, Petrie J, White D, Bradburn M, Young T, Rajbhandari S, Sharma S, Rayman G, Gouni R, Alam U, Julious SA, Cooper C, Loban A, Sutherland K, Glover R, Waterhouse S, Turton E, Horspool M, Gandhi R, Maguire D, Jude E, Ahmed SH, Vas P, Hariman C, McDougall C, Devers M, Tsatlidis V, Johnson M, Bouhassira D, Bennett DL, Selvarajah D. Optimal pharmacotherapy pathway in adults with diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain: the OPTION-DM RCT. Health Technol Assess. 2022 Oct;26(39):1-100.

Tesfaye S, Sloan G, Petrie J, White D, Bradburn M, Julious S, Rajbhandari S, Sharma S, Rayman G, Gouni R, Alam U, Cooper C, Loban A, Sutherland K, Glover R, Waterhouse S, Turton E, Horspool M, Gandhi R, Maguire D, Jude EB, Ahmed SH, Vas P, Hariman C, McDougall C, Devers M, Tsatlidis V, Johnson M, Rice ASC, Bouhassira D, Bennett DL, Selvarajah D; OPTION-DM trial group. Comparison of amitriptyline supplemented with pregabalin, pregabalin supplemented with amitriptyline, and duloxetine supplemented with pregabalin for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (OPTION-DM): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised crossover trial. Lancet. 2022 Aug 27;400(10353):680-690. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01472-6. Epub 2022 Aug 22. Erratum in: Lancet. 2022 Sep 10;400(10355):810.