Aging and quantitative sensory thresholds

Cutaneous thresholds for vibration and thermal sensitivity were quantitated at the index finger and great toe in 54 subjects without obvious neurological disease. Twelve patients over sixty years of age also consented to standard nerve conduction studies which proved normal. Vibration thresholds progressively increased with age to a significant degree at the finger (p less than 0.05), and especially at the toe (p less than 0.001). Thermal sensitivity thresholds showed no significant relationship with age. These findings confirm the clinical notion that vibration discrimination decreases with normal aging, especially in the toes.