Demyelinating neuropathy in diabetes mellitus.
BACKGROUND
Recent studies have reported that patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a predisposition to develop chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether patients with DM have a polyneuropathy fulfilling electrophysiologic criteria for CIDP, and whether CIDP is more frequent in patients with type 1 than in patients with type 2 DM.


METHODS
We prospectively studied the frequency of electrophysiologic changes meeting the criteria for CIDP in patients with DM seen in our electrophysiology laboratory during a 51-month period (period 1). To evaluate the relationship between DM and CIDP, we prospectively determined during a 14-month period (period 2) the frequency of DM in patients seen in our electrophysiology laboratory with other neuromuscular diseases, and the frequency of idiopathic CIDP.


RESULTS
During period 1, 120 patients with DM met the electrophysiologic criteria for CIDP (DM-CIDP). The most frequent clinical features of DM-CIDP were those of a predominantly large-fiber sensorimotor neuropathy, with recent motor deterioration and a moderately increased cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration. Twenty-six of the 120 patients were given intravenous immunoglobulin (400 mg/kg per day for 5 days), and 21 patients (80.8%) had significant improvement in the neurologic deficit at the end of 4 weeks of therapy. The DM-CIDP occurred equally in type 1 and type 2 DM. During period 2, 1127 patients were seen. Of these, 189 (16.8%) had DM with various neurologic disorders, including 32 patients (16.9%) with DM-CIDP. Among the remaining 938 patients without DM, 17 (1.8%) had idiopathic CIDP. The odds of occurrence of DM-CIDP was 11 times higher among diabetic than nondiabetic patients (P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Demyelinating neuropathy meeting the electrophysiologic criteria for CIDP occurred in both types of DM, and its occurrence was significantly higher in diabetic than in nondiabetic patients.
Sharma
Khema R
KR
Department of Neurology, University of Miami School of Medicine (M740), 1150 NW 14th St, Room 603, Miami, FL 33136, USA. ksharma@med.miami.edu
Cross
John
J
Farronay
Oscar
O
Ayyar
D Ram
DR
Shebert
Robert T
RT
Bradley
Walter G
WG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction; D020277:Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies
D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous