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Published on: August 3, 2021
No difference in small or large nerve fiber function between individuals with normal glucose tolerance and impaired
Kaveh Pourhamidi1, Lars B Dahlin, Elisabet Englund
1Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. kaveh.pourhamidi@fammed.umu.se
Objective:
To assess small and large nerve fiber function in people with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Research Design And Methods:
Participants were recruited consecutively from a population-based cohort: NGT (n = 39), IGT (n = 29), and T2D (n = 51). Electrophysiological measures included nerve conduction studies and thermal thresholds. Intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) in skin biopsies was calculated.
Results:
There was no difference between IGT and NGT in sural nerve conduction, IENFD, and thermal thresholds. IENFD was significantly lower in T2D (median = 2.8 fibers/mm [interquartile range 1.1-4.7 fibers/mm]) than NGT individuals (4.5 fibers/mm [3.4-6.1 fibers/mm]; P < 0.05). T2D participants had poorer nerve conduction and higher heat thresholds than NGT and IGT.
Conclusions:
Large and small nerve function in people with IGT did not differ from those with NGT. Our finding does not support the existence of neuropathy in a prediabetic stage.
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