Abstract
The sympathetic skin response was measured in 30 diabetic subjects with clinical signs of polyneuropathy and in 30 sex- and age-matched controls. Regular responses were obtained in all healthy subjects and the majority of diabetic patients (hand: 94%, foot: 79%). Mean coefficients of variation for repeated measurements were low for latencies (hand: 12%, foot: 13%), amplitudes showed a comparatively high variation (37% and 38%). In the control group mean onset latency was 1.54 ± 0.22 s for hand responses and 2.20 ± 0.31 s for foot responses. In most diabetic subjects latencies were clearly delayed (hand: p <0.001), amplitudes were reduced by half on an average. Subclinical autonomic dysfunction was found to be an early and consistent feature of diabetic neuropathy. The sympathetic skin response latency (hand) was established as a sensitive electrophysiological parameter in diabetic neuropathy. When using a cut-off value of 1.68 s for the latency of hand responses, the correct attribution to diabetic and control group was of highest efficacy (sensitivity and specifity > 90%).
| Translated title of the contribution | Sympathetic skin response in diabetic neuropathy |
|---|---|
| Original language | German |
| Pages (from-to) | 196-199 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | EEG-EMG Zeitschrift fur Elektroenzephalographie Elektromyographie und Verwandte Gebiete |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 1994 |
Keywords
- diabetes mellitus
- peripheral autonomic potentials
- sympathetic nervous system
- sympathetic skin response
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology