[Subclinical peripheral neuropathy in type 1 diabetic adolescents and its relationship with metabolic control]

Professional management of paediatric diabetology, according to consensus guidelines, involves the screening of microvascular complications at puberty. The subclinical form of peripheral neural dysfunction in diabetic teenagers is reported with a frequency of 50-88%, by different authors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of subclinical distal neuropathy (DSMN) in type 1 diabetic paediatric patients during the second decade of life, and its relationship with metabolic control. The Endocrinology Department and the Neurology-Physiology Laboratory of the Paediatric Clinic in Belgrade carried out a longitudinal follow-up study (lasting 18 months, beginning in November 2000) on a selection of patients with poor metabolic control. During routine clinical treatment, patients were evaluated using the electrophysiological diagnostic method on peripheral neural dysfunction, a subclinical form of neuropathy. Metabolic control was manifested through HbA1c levels, measured every 3 months, using ion-exchange chromatography. Finally, here is the data collected from the clinical follow-up investigation of 60 children, aged 13-19 (median 15.5 +/- 2.2), with duration of diabetes from 2-16 years (median 6.3 +/- 3.6), and on the following therapies: 43 CT-conventional and 17 IIT-intensive, and insulin dose/ day, median 1.02 (0.6-2.1) U/kg. Detected DSMN parameters at the beginning and at the end of the study were also noted. DSMN frequency was positive, at 64% for HbA1c of 9.44; DSMN dysfunction was reversed in 5% of the patients, for HbA1c of 10.17; the worst result was the progression of DSMN at 6.7% for HbA1c of 10.52; 6.7% had negative DSMN, with improved metabolic control, for HbA1c of 8.4; 15% of the examinations were unfinished (+/*). ANOVA statistical analysis showed a significant statistical relationship between metabolic control (HbA1c levels) and DSMN neuropathy (sig. 0.043, p < 0.05). There was no significant relationship between the reversion of DSMN and improved HbA1c, although a numeric distinction did exist. On the clinical aspect, there was a significant relationship between insulin dosage and age (p < 0.01, sig. 0.007). This data demonstrates the influence of metabolic regulation on neuropathy. Better metabolic control can slow the progression of subclinical peripheral neural dysfunction (DSMN) in diabetic children.