Prevalence of asymptomatic nerve dysfunction in 77 patients with type I diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Purpose: We have investigated the frequency of polyneuropathy in our patients with type I diabetes mellitus. Methods: A total of 77 type I diabetic patients were evaluated for central and peripheric nerve dysfunction. Peripheral motor nerve function was measured using electroneurography (ENG). Additionally visual evoked potentials (VEP) and brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAEP)were recorded in all diabetic patients. Results: We found that asymptomatic neuropathy was present in 33% of patients with diabetes duration less than five years and in 50% of those with diabetes duration more than 10 years. ENG showed slower motor nerve conduction with the longer duration of diabetes (p