What Researchers Did
Researchers measured nerve signal speed and strength in nine diabetic patients with nerve damage before and after hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
What They Found
This clinical study of nine diabetic patients with distal symmetrical polyneuropathy found no significant change in peroneal nerve latency, amplitude, or conduction velocity after treatment. In the median nerve, motor fiber conduction velocity was slower at the six-month exam, and sensory fibers showed increased distal latency with slowed conduction velocity at six months, while sensory action potential amplitudes decreased progressively over the same period. Despite these electrophysiological findings, all patients had complete resolution of dysesthesias, paresthesias, and distal pain and cramps in the legs and arms. The authors suggest this symptom relief points to functional changes in small unmyelinated fibers that could not be tested with the conventional techniques used in this study.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This was a small, uncontrolled study of only nine patients with no comparison group, and it could not test small unmyelinated nerve fibers with the conventional electrophysiological techniques used.