Distal Painful Autonomic Neuropathy (original) (raw)
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Introduction: One of the major diseases of worldwide concern is the Diabetes mellitus. 2.8 percent is the current global prevalence of DM in all the age groups and is estimated to be more than 4 percent by the end of 2030. Treatment and prevention of the risk factors to minimize the morbidity of the disease is the present need of thee hour for reducing the prevalence of the disease. Peripheral neuropathy often accompanies DM and also is an important cause of foot ulceration, and amputation. Hence; we investigated the influence of the IGT on peripheral or autonomic nervous system. Material and Methods: The present study was conducted in the department of physiology of the medical institution and included a total of 50 patients with age group of 37 to 62 years who were diagnosed with IGT on testing the 2hPG (second-hour plasma glucose) in oral glucose tolerance testing. 50 normal healthy controls were also included in the present study with comparable age and other demographic parameters. The difference between the longest and the shortest R-R intervals was named 'a'. The median of all R-R intervals was named 'b'. The ratio of 'a' to 'b' was multiplied by 100. The result gives the heart rate variation variability. Increase in pressure above or equal to 16 mmHg was accepted as normal response, increase in pressure between 11 and 15 mmHg was accepted as borderline response, and increase in pressure lower than 11 mmHg was accepted as abnormal response. All the results were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: The mean heart rate variation in the patients group and control group was 21.45 and 23.41 respectively. The mean E:I rate in the patients group and the control group was 1.42 and 1.28 respectively. Non-significant results were obtained while comparing the heart rate variation, E:I rate and valsalva rate in between the two study groups. Non-significant results were obtained while comparing the blood pressure response in between the patients of the two study groups. Conclusion: The degeneration of small-fibers was reached as a conclusion of the evaluation of queries about the complaints, neurological examination, and electrophysiological tests.
Peripheral Autonomic Neuropathy
Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, 2012
Skin biopsy has gained widespread use for the diagnosis of somatic small-fiber neuropathy, but it also provides information on sympathetic fiber morphology. We aimed to ascertain the diagnostic accuracy of skin biopsy in disclosing sympathetic nerve abnormalities in patients with autonomic neuropathy. Peripheral nerve fiber autonomic involvement was confirmed by routine autonomic laboratory test abnormalities. Punch skin biopsies were taken from the thigh and lower leg of 28 patients with various types of autonomic neuropathy for quantitative evaluation of skin autonomic innervation. Results were compared with scores obtained from 32 agematched healthy controls and 25 patients with somatic neuropathy. The autonomic cutoff score was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Skin biopsy disclosed a significant autonomic innervation decrease in autonomic neuropathy patients versus controls and somatic neuropathy patients. Autonomic innervation density was abnormal in 96% of patients in the lower leg and in 79% of patients in the thigh. The abnormal findings disclosed by routine autonomic tests ranged from 48% to 82%. These data indicate the high sensitivity and specificity of skin biopsy in detecting sympathetic abnormalities; this method should be useful for the diagnosis of autonomic neuropathy, together with currently available routine autonomic testing.
Updates on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Autonomic Neuropathies
Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 2022
Purpose of Review Autonomic neuropathies are a complex group of disorders and result in diverse clinical manifestations that affect the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urogenital, and sudomotor systems. We focus this review on the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral autonomic neuropathies. We summarize the diagnostic tools and current treatment options that will help the clinician care for individuals with peripheral autonomic neuropathies. Recent Findings Autonomic neuropathies occur often in conjunction with somatic neuropathies but they can also occur in isolation. The autonomic reflex screen is a validated tool to assess sympathetic postganglionic sudomotor, cardiovascular sympathetic noradrenergic, and cardiac parasympathetic (i.e., cardiovagal) function. Initial laboratory evaluation for autonomic neuropathies includes fasting glucose or oral glucose tolerance test, thyroid function tests, kidney function tests, vitamin-B12, serum, and urine protein electrophoresis with immunofixation. Other laboratory tests should be guided by the clinical context. Reduced intraepidermal nerve density on skin biopsy is a finding, not a diagnosis. Skin biopsy can be helpful in selected individuals for the diagnosis of disorders affecting small nerve fibers; however, we strongly discourage the use of skin biopsy without clinical-physiological correlation. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring may lead to early identification of patients with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in the primary care setting. Disease-modifying therapies should be used when available in combination with nonpharmacological management and symptomatic pharmacologic therapies. Autonomic function testing can guide the therapeutic decisions and document improvement with treatment. Summary A systematic approach guided by the autonomic history and standardized autonomic function testing may help clinicians when identifying and/or counseling patients with autonomic neuropathies. Treatment should be individualized and disease-modifying therapies should be used when available.
Journal of Research in Diabetes, 2014
Introduction: Diabetic neuropathy is the most frequent chronic complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), currently considered an irreversible end-organ damage complication. The present case concerns a teenage patient, who after effective glycemic control, was shown to regain sensitive and autonomic nerve function. Case Report: An 18-year-old female patient with Type 1 DM with 6 years of evolution since diagnosis and poor metabolic control (HbA1c 13%) presents to our outpatient clinic with severe sock-pattern burning pain sensation in both lower limbs, which is perceived to have worsened in the previous 6 months despite receiving gabapentin and pregabalin, prescribed in another health center. At physical examination, orthostatic hypotension was evidenced after a fast transition to standing position, tachycardia, muscular hypotrophy of both quadriceps and sural triceps, with a negative Rydel-Seiffert test and a positive Romberg test. Patellar and calcaneal osteotendinous hyporreflexia were found, while hyperalgesia and allodynia to palpation of both feet were present. The RINES-VALCARDI test yielded 8 points at first consultation. She was given patient education concerning her disease and started a strict diet as well as an appropriate insulin therapy to achieve metabolic control. She was treated with duloxetine and capsaicin cream, treatments which she abandoned 6 months later with no observable or measurable relapse of her nerve dysfunctional symptoms; not even one year afterwards. Discussion: This case is unique due to several aspects: The severity of hyperalgesia, and the reversibility of both peripheral and autonomic symptoms after glycemic control and patient education. These elements are fundamental pertaining to reversion of nerve damage.
Peripheral neuropathy does not invariably coexist with autonomic neuropathy in diabetes mellitus
European Journal of Internal Medicine, 2001
Background: Peripheral somatic and autonomic neuropathies are the most common types of diabetic polyneuropathy. Although duration and degree of hyperglycemia are considered to be risk factors for both autonomic and peripheral neuropathy, recent studies have raised the question of a different development and natural history of these neuropathies in diabetes. In addition, a few studies have investigated the relationship between chronic painful and autonomic neuropathy. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent autonomic and peripheral neuropathy coexist, as well as whether painful neuropathy is more common in diabetic patients with autonomic neuropathy. Methods: Subjects with type 1 (n552; mean age 31.7 years) and type 2 diabetes (n553; mean age 54.5 years) were studied. Evaluation of peripheral neuropathy was based on clinical symptoms (neuropathic symptom score), signs (neuropathy disability score), and quantitative sensory testing (vibration perception threshold). Assessment of autonomic neuropathy was based on the battery of standardized cardiovascular autonomic function tests. Results: Prevalence rates of pure autonomic and of pure peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 1diabetes were 28.8 and 13.5%, respectively. The respective rates in patients with type 2 diabetes were 20.7% (P50.33 vs. type 1 diabetes) and 20.7% (P50.32). Peripheral and autonomic neuropathy coexisted in 28.8% of type 1 and in 45.3% of type 2 diabetic subjects (P50.08). Prevalence rates of chronic painful neuropathy in subjects with type 1 diabetes, with and without autonomic neuropathy, were 16.6 and 22.7%, respectively (P50.85) and in type 2 diabetic subjects 20 and 22.2%, respectively (P50.58). Multivariate analysis after adjustment for age, sex, blood pressure, duration of diabetes, HBA , and presence of retinopathy or 1c microalbuminuria showed that neither the indices of peripheral nerve function (neuropathic symptom score, neuropathy disability score, vibration perception threshold) nor the presence of peripheral neuropathy or chronic painful neuropathy are associated with the presence of autonomic neuropathy in individuals with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Peripheral and autonomic neuropathies do not invariably coexist in diabetes. In addition, chronic painful neuropathy may be present irrespective of the presence of autonomic neuropathy.
Clinico-pathological features of postural hypotension in diabetic autonomic neuropathy
Diabetic Medicine, 2000
We report the clinico-pathological features and management of a 49-year-old male with a 30-year history of Type 1 diabetes mellitus who had nephropathy (proteinuria 1.81 g/24 h, creatinine 136 mmol/l), proliferative retinopathy and severe somatic and autonomic neuropathy. A sural nerve biopsy demonstrated marked myelinated ®bre loss with unmyelinated ®bre degeneration and regeneration combined with extensive endoneurial microangiopathy. The management of the patient's blood pressure problems (supine hypertension) and symptomatic postural hypotension is discussed.
Diabetes, 1986
The relationship between abnormal peripheral nerve electrophysiology and abnormal cardiovascular autonomic function has been studied in four groups of diabetic subjects, comparable with regard to age, duration, and type of diabetes. Thirty-three had no symptoms of neuropathy, 28 had newly developed painful neuropathy, 24 had chronic painful neuropathy, and 21 had painless neuropathy with associated recurrent foot ulcers. In all three symptomatic groups, electrophysiology and autonomic function were more abnormal than in asymptomatic diabetic subjects. There was a significant overall relationship between peripheral nerve (electrophysiologic) and autonomic (cardiovascular reflex) dysfunction. However, when considered by groups, the degree of cardiovascular reflex abnormality was similar in the three symptomatic groups, whereas electrophysiology was appreciably worse in the foot ulcer group than in patients with painful neuropathy. Thus, patients with painful neuropathy had a higher ratio of autonomic (small fiber) abnormality to electrophysiologic (large fiber) abnormality. By contrast, foot ulceration was associated with the worst electrophysiologic (large fiber) abnormality. Heavier alcohol consumption and more severe retinopathy were also related to foot ulceration. In diabetic subjects with symmetrical sensory neuropathy, the relationship between large fiber and small fiber damage is not uniform. We conclude that there may be different etiologic influences on large and small fiber neuropathy in diabetic subjects and that the predominant type of fiber damage may determine the form of the presenting clinical syndrome. DIABETES 1986; 35:192-97.
An update on the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic somatic and autonomic neuropathy
F1000Research
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common chronic complication of diabetes. It poses a significant challenge for clinicians as it is often diagnosed late when patients present with advanced consequences such as foot ulceration. Autonomic neuropathy (AN) is also a frequent and under-diagnosed complication unless it is overtly symptomatic. Both somatic and autonomic neuropathy are associated with increased mortality. Multiple clinical trials have failed because of limited efficacy in advanced disease, inadequate trial duration, lack of effective surrogate end-points and a lack of deterioration in the placebo arm in clinical trials of DPN. Multifactorial risk factor reduction, targeting glycaemia, blood pressure and lipids can reduce the progression of DPN and AN. Treatment of painful DPN reduces painful symptoms by about 50% at best, but there is limited efficacy with any single agent. This reflects the complex aetiology of painful DPN and argues for improved clinical ph...
The natural history of recently diagnosed autonomic neuropathy over a period of 2 years
1998
Background: Patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN) have an increased cardiovascular mortality rate compared with normals or diabetic patients without DAN. Indices of standard cardiovascular autonomic function tests and heart rate variability (HRV) are reliable markers of the presence and severity of DAN. Objective: The present prospective study investigated the natural history of values of HRV indices and cardiovascular reflex tests in patients with recently diagnosed asymptomatic DAN, over a period of 2 years, at 3 month intervals. Patients and methods: A total of 30 consecutive patients (nine men and 21 women), of median age 51 (range 25-65) years, eight with type 1 and 22 with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, were included in the study, at the time that the presence of DAN was confirmed, as this was established if at least two of cardiovascular autonomic function tests became abnormal. The expiration/inspiration (E/I) ratio, S.D. and mean circular resultant of R-R intervals, the Valsalva index, the 30:15 ratio, and the blood pressure response to standing as well as normalised spectral power indices of HRV were used. Results: All measured indices, except the Valsalva index, deteriorated in all 30 patients during the 2 year follow-up. Most of HRV indices values deteriorated significantly in comparison to baseline at month 12, while the values of cardiovascular reflex tests displayed significant deterioration, in comparison to baseline, between months 15 and 21. Fourteen patients developed symptoms of DAN during the 2 year period. Patients with better glycemic control exhibited deterioration of DAN markers at the same time period with those with poor glycemic control. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the progression of DAN is significant during the 2 years subsequent to its discovery. This was defined by the deterioration of the mean values of HRV indices and standard cardiovascular autonomic function tests, and by the development of autonomic symptoms in some patients. HRV indices are the earlier markers of DAN deterioration.