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ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES IN DIABETIC PATIENTS
Author(s) -
Lanzillo B.,
Crisci C.,
Crispi F.,
Saltalamacchia A.M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of the peripheral nervous system
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1529-8027
pISSN - 1085-9489
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8027.2000.00513-31.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sural nerve , sensory nerve , sensory system , electrophysiology , tibial nerve , nerve conduction velocity , motor nerve , diabetic neuropathy , surgery , diabetes mellitus , anesthesia , anatomy , endocrinology , neuroscience , psychology , stimulation
We studied 476 patients affected by diabetes: 166 male (mean age 61.6 ± 10 years, range 27–91) and 310 female (mean age 61.5 ± 8.4 years, range 25–82). Mean disease duration was 11.3 ± 7.6 years, range 0.3–37). All patients underwent surface motor and sensory nerve conduction along median, popliteal, and sural nerve. Results. Median nerve: in 3.1% of subjects sensory action potentials (SAP) was absent; sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) was reduced in 41.8% in distal segment and in 27.5% in the proximal segment. Motor nerve conduction (MNCV) was reduced in 29.9% of the subjects. Sural nerve: SAP was absent in 24.4% and SNCV was reduced in 32.7%. Popliteal nerve: MNCV was abnormal in 30.4% of the subjects. Combining electrophysiological data we observed that: 1. 28.6% of the subjects resulted normal 2. 12.8% were affected by a lower limbs sensory neuropathy 3. 0.2% had a lower limbs motor neuropathy 4. 5.9% had a lower limbs sensory‐motor neuropathy 5. 6.1% had a diffused sensory neuropathy 6. 30.2% had a diffused sensory‐motor neuropathy 7. 16.2% had a carpal tunnel syndrome. Patients were divided in 2 groups: patients with and patients without neuropahy: the latter showed a significantly shorter disease duration (12.7 ± 8.1 vs 9.0 ± 6.3; p < 0.0001). In addition, we observed a significant correlation between disease duration and distal latency, median and popliteal MNCV, and SNCV in median and sural nerve (Regression test; p < 0.0001). Patients on insulin showed a longer disease duration and more severe electrophysiological abnormalities.