Abstract

 

In 41 diabetic patients with clinical and electrophysiological evidences of motor sensory peripheral neuropathy and in 20 normal control subjects, sympathetic skin responses (SSRs) were recorded from both hands and feet by electrical stimuli to the median nerve at the wrist. The SSRs were present in all limbs of normal subjects, but were not be able to record at the feet in 14.6 % and the hands in 4.9 % of the diabetic patients. There were no significant associations between abnormalities of SSRs, age, duration and form of diabetes, signs of peripheral neuropathy and electrophysiological abnormalities. Absence of SSR in the feet was more frequent found in patients with symptoms of autonomic dysfunction as bladder dysfunction (p< 0.05), diarrhea (p< 0.03) and male impotence (p< 0.05). These results suggest that SSR is a valuable test in the assessment of autonomic involvement in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. [Journal of Turgut Özal Medical Center 1996;3(4):324-327]

Key Words: Sympathetic skin response, autonomic dysfunction, diabetes mellitus.