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DYSAUTONOMIA IN CRYOGLOBULINEMIC AND ALCOHOLIC NEUROPATHIES
Author(s) -
Ammendola A.,
Ambrosone L.,
Ciccone G.,
Argenzio F.,
Cantore R.,
Iannaccone S.,
Ugolini G.,
Di Iorio G.,
Migliaresi S.,
Bravaccio F.
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.x
Subject(s) - dysautonomia , sudomotor , medicine , efferent , nerve conduction velocity , autonomic nervous system , valsalva maneuver , peripheral neuropathy , sural nerve , cardiology , anesthesia , surgery , endocrinology , afferent , blood pressure , heart rate , diabetes mellitus , disease
Sympathetic Skin Response (SSR) can evaluate the activity of both sensory afferent and sudomotor sympathetic efferent fibres in peripheral neuropathy (PN). This electrophysiological test was performed in two groups of patients: one with HCV‐related mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) and the other with chronic alcoholism (CA). Thirty consecutive HCV‐related MC patients, 25 female and 5 male, aged 35–74 years and thirty‐three consecutive CA patients, 8 female and 25 male, aged 24–69 years were studied. In all cases, neurological exam, peroneal, sural and ulnar nerve conduction velocity, standardised test battery for autonomic disorder (defined according to Bellavere, 1990) and SSR (recorded with electrodes attached to the palm and sole and considered abnormal if no response was recorded) were performed. PN was found in 27 MC patients (90%) and in 23 CA patients (69.6%). Autonomic dysfunction, shown by cardiovascular tests, was found in 3 MC patients, all with PN and in 6 CA subjects, all but one with PN. SSR resulted absent in 12 MC patients (40%): three of them with and 9 without dysautonomia; SSR was also absent in 9 CA patients (27.2%) (1 with and 8 without dysautonomia). In MC and CA patients, autonomic dysfunction frequency increases when SSR is studied together with standard cardiovascular tests. SSR provides further information about sympathetic autonomic system activity and therefore it is advisable to add this investigation to tests usually utilized in functional evaluation of autonomic nervous system.