Importance of Sensory Latency Measurement in Early Diabetic Polyneuropathy

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between the variables of sensory nerve conduction study of diabetic polyneuropathy patients and the factors that explain variations of multivariate data of sensory nerve conduction study. METHOD: Forty four early diabetic polyneuropathy patients and forty normal control people were included in our study. Early polyneuropathy patients were diagnosed by nerve conduction study. Their sensory nerve conduction meaurement variables were compared with normal control people in terms of correlation between amplitude and latency, and factors that were independent. RESULTS: Age controlled partial correlations between amplitude and latency suggested that early diabetic polyneuropathy patients had more association between amplitude and latency than normal control people. Cannonical correlation also reinforced the above suggestion. Factor analysis revealed degenerative factor, demyelination factor, axonopathy factors that were independent in normal control people and degenerative factors, upper extremity demyelination factor, lower extremity functional factors in the dibetic polyneuropathy patients. CONCLUSION: The latency of sensory nerve conduction study was an important variable in assessing diabetic polyneuropathy patients.