Peripheral Neuropathy Types of Diabetic Patients in Babylon Province

Diabetes Mellitus is a clinical syndrome characterized by hyperglycemia due to absolute or relative insulin deficiency. The prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is 13.4% in Iraqi patients. In Saudi Arabia the prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy is 66.3%. Distal symmetric sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy. Therefore, the aim of current study was to determine the most frequent peripheral neuropathy type in diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients who visit the diabetic center in Babylon Province.

Three hundred individuals were considered in the study. They were divided into two groups labeled as A and B. Group A involved 150 diabetis-free individuals and considered as a control group. Group B involved 150 diabetic diagnosed individuals. All participants are underwent neurological examination and nerve conduction study (NCS). The study was carried out at Mirjan and Al-Sadeq Teaching Hospitals in Babylon province during the period from Oct.2017 to Sep.2018.

The electrophysiological changes assessed by NCS showed that there was a significant decrease in amplitude, conduction velocity for motor and sensory nerves in patients with peripheral neuropathy in comparison with that of control group (P<0.05). Also, there was prolongation in the F wave and distal latencies in patients with peripheral neuropathy in comparison with that of the control group, P value <0.05.

From those findings we can conclude that Polyneuropathy is the most frequent type of neuropathy (62%) followed by mononeuropathy (16.7%) and mononeuropathy multiplex (14%). In addition, the sensorimotor fibers are most frequent ones among other nerve fiber types (71.2%), but the early fibers affect are sensory fibers.