Early diagnosis of neuropathy in diabetic patients using nerve conduction studies

Abstract

Background: Neuropathy is one of the common complications of diabetes, in which the patient’s quality of life is compromised. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) are not commonly employed to detect the neuropathy. Aims & Objective: To find out the utility of Nerve conduction studies (NCS) as early indicator of neuropathy in diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: 50 diabetes mellitus patients with normal HbA1c levels and 50 diabetes mellitus patients with elevated HbA1c levels were selected, making it a total of 100 diabetes mellitus patients. 50 non-diabetic, healthy subjects were chosen as a control group. The nerve conduction velocity was tested in all the diabetic subjects and the healthy controls. Results: The analysis showed that the nerve conduction velocity progressively decreased from the controls (49.0 ± 3.9) to the diabetics with a good glycaemia control (47.2 ± 2.8), to the diabetics with a poor glycemic control (45.3 ± 3.1). Conclusion: There is a progressive neuronal involvement in the diabetic process which is accelerated by poor glycemic control. Therefore, nerve conduction studies can be employed for testing and for the early indication of neuropathy in diabetic patients.