Abstract
Nerve conduction velocity (NCV) is one of the simplest ways to evaluate diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN). We measured NCV annually for eight years in 442 type 2 diabetic patients divided into 3 groups based on the degree of diabetic retinopathy and studied the correlation between the progression of diabetic retinopathy and NCV. We also studied the eight-year time course of NCV for each retinopathy grade. In the study of the correlation between the progression of diabetic retinopathy and NCV, NCV was lower the higher the grade of retinopathy. In the 8-year time course of NCV, NCV significantly decreased for all retinopathy grades, but the averaged NCV in one retinopathy grade did not decrease below the averaged NCV of the upper grade of retinopathy. From these results, we concluded that DPN is more progressive at higher retinopathy grade, and DPN steadily progresses from the period of no retinopathy to proliferative retinopathy in parallel with retinopathy progression.
