[Radionuclide study of disorders of esophageal motility in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy]

Radionuclide method was used to examine transport function of the esophagus in 24 patients with diabetes mellitus and symmetric distal polyneuropathy. 99mTc-+sulfur colloid was employed as a radiopharmaceutical agent. The movement of radioactivity was elucidated visually with the aid of a gamma-chamber. In 9 patients, measurements were made of the prolonged transit time of the whole esophagus as well as prolonged transit time for the lower, median and upper third of the esophagus. The same patients manifested deceleration of the evacuation of the entire esophagus and respective parts thereof. That method can be included into the diagnostic complex intended for early diagnosis of vegetative disorders in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy and for evaluating the intensity of autonomous neuropathy.