Electrophysiologic quantification of distal polyneuropathy in diabetes

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Abstract
Electrophysiologic studies of the lower limb (reflex, motor, and sensory) were done in 50 diabetics, 30 of whom were age- and sex-matched with controls. The results were analyzed by a 0 to 9 rating—electrophysiologic polyneuropathy (EPN) score.The median EPN scores were 0.5 in controls and 3.5 in diabetics (p < 0.001). Diabetics with mild or no distal polyneuropathy (DPN) had a median EPN score of 2.4 compared with 4.7 in those with overt DPN (p < 0.0001). The EPN score correlated positively with known duration of diabetes and showed differences with age and therapy. It provides a single electrophysiologic parameter for evaluating DPN in diabetics.