Assessing corneal dendritic cells in glucose dysregulation small‐fibre neuropathy

Abstract

AbstractBackground and AimsSmall‐fibre neuropathy (SFN) is associated with glucose dysregulation, including impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) offers a non‐invasive tool to assess corneal nerve damage and dendritic cell density (DCD). In this study, we investigated corneal DCD in patients with SFN and glucose dysregulation, defined as IGT or T2D.MethodsWe enrolled 38 patients with SFN + glucose dysregulation, 51 with SFN + non‐glucose dysregulation and 20 healthy controls. All participants underwent neurological examination, neurophysiology and CCM.ResultsIndividuals with SFN and glucose dysregulation had higher DCD compared with healthy controls (p = .01), and mature DCD was higher in IGT SFN patients than in T2D patients.InterpretationHigher DCD in IGT compared with controls and patients with established T2D may suggest that DCD is a biomarker of early neuropathy.