Controversies on the Usefulness of Nerve Conduction Study in the Early Diagnosis of Diabetic Polyneuropathy: Cons

Sohn, Eun Hee

Ann Clin Neurophysiol > 2008 ;10(1) > Article

Ann Clin Neurophysiol. 2008; 10(1): 33-37.

Eun Hee Sohn

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy, and causes a significant morbidity with an impact on the quality of life in the patients with diabetes. Since DPN frequently induces foot deformity and ulceration, which finally leads to foot amputation, the early detection and treatment is very important for the prevention of a permanent structural change. In the early stage of DPN, the diagnostic methods which can evaluate the function or structure of small nerve fibers should be employed because small nerve fibers are first involved in the course of DPN. However, the nerve conduction study cannot reflect the function of the small nerve fibers, and thus, has a definite limitation in the early diagnosis of DPN. For the early detection of DPN, electrodiagnostic data should be interpreted on a clinical context, along with the careful evaluation of the small nerve fiber functions using the tests such as the analysis of intraepidermal nerve fiber density.

Key words: Diabetic neuropathy, Nerve fiber, Nerve conduction, Epidermal nerve