Effect of Duration of Diabetes on Sural Nerve Conduction Parameters in Subjects with Type-II Diabetes Mellitus - A Cross sectional Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus has become a rapidly rising global health-care problem in the recent decades. Amongst the wide spectrum of concurrent complications, Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is quite common and distressing. The sensory symptoms may vary from numbness, hypo-aesthesia, allodynia to severe paresthesia. Long term consequences of these sensory disturbances are foot ulceration, imbalance, increased risk of fall and even amputations too. Since these symptoms interfere with the quality of life of diabetic individuals and also lead to increased socio-economic burden, immediate action to combat these is pre-requisite for health care development of any nation. Further, if timely diagnosed, these complications can largely be prevented. Nerve conduction study holds the gold standard tool to detect Diabetic neuropathy at its subclinical stage itself. Sural nerve is the commonest and most prevalent nerve involved, so it was considered for analysis. Duration of diabetes is an important factor which affects neurophysiology. Thus, the aim of the present study is to study the effect of duration of diabetes on Sural nerve conduction parameters in subjects with type-II Diabetes Mellitus having varying duration of diabetes. Method: Seventy-three Subjects with type-II Diabetes mellitus were divided into three groups according to the duration of disease. Group A:<5 years, B: 5-10 years, C: >10 years of diabetes. Bilateral Sural nerves were analysed using RMS EMG SALUS machine. Result: Significant reduction of Sensory nerve action potential (p<0.05) was found as the duration of diabetes increased from Group A to C. Conclusion: Long term Diabetes leads to Axonal degeneration in Sural nerves. Key words: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy, Nerve conduction study, Sural nerves, Diabetes mellitus, Duration of Diabetes, Axonal degeneration.