The contributors of emotional distress in painful diabetic neuropathy.

Aims: To examine the contribution of demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors to emotional distress in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (DN).

Methods: In total, 142 patients with confirmed painful DN underwent detailed clinical and self-assessment measures (Neuropathic Pain Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Pain Acceptance Questionnaire and Pain Catastrophizing Scale).

Results: The prevalence of emotional distress was 51.

Relationship between interstitial and blood glucose during hypoglycemia in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Continuous glucose monitoring devices measure interstitial glucose and are commonly used to investigate hypoglycemia. The relationship between interstitial glucose and blood glucose is not completely understood, particularly at low blood glucose concentrations. Interstitial glucose during hypoglycemia is generally lower than blood glucose in young subjects without diabetes and those with type 1 diabetes, but the effect of insulin resistance and obesity in type 2 diabetes on this relationship has not been examined previously.

Painful diabetic neuropathy is associated with greater autonomic dysfunction than painless diabetic neuropathy.

Objective: Although a clear link between diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and autonomic neuropathy is recognized, the relationship of autonomic neuropathy with subtypes of DPN is less clear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of autonomic neuropathy with painless and painful DPN.

Research Design And Methods: Eighty subjects (20 healthy volunteers, 20 with no DPN, 20 with painful DPN, 20 with painless DPN) underwent detailed neurophysiological investigations (including conventional autonomic function tests [AFTs]) and spectral analysis of short-term heart rate variability (HRV), which assesses sympathovagal modulation of the heart rate.

Randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial of cannabis-based medicinal product (Sativex) in painful diabetic neuropathy: depression is a major confounding factor.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of Sativex, a cannabis-based medicinal extract, as adjuvant treatment in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

Research Design And Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 30 subjects with painful DPN received daily Sativex or placebo. The primary outcome measure was change in mean daily pain scores, and secondary outcome measures included quality-of-life assessments.

An approach to the assessment of diabetic neuropathy based on dynamic pupillometry.

Autonomic neuropathy (AN) is a common and serious complication of diabetes. Early detection is essential to enable appropriate interventional therapy. It has long been recognized that subjects with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) are at much greater risk of developing AN, but there is currently no simple screening tool to assess them.

Early involvement of the spinal cord in diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Objective: The pathogenesis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is poorly understood. We have recently reported a significant reduction in spinal cord cross-sectional area at the stage of clinically detectable DPN. In this study, we investigated whether spinal cord atrophy occurs in early (subclinical) DPN.

Hypoxia of sleep apnoea: cardiopulmonary and cerebral changes after intermittent hypoxia in rats.

Sleep apnoea (SA) is common, especially in elderly people. In severe cases, arterial P(O2) may be lowered for a third or more in a night of sleep. To simulate the degree and duration of severe SA we exposed rats in a normobaric environmental chamber to 10% O(2) for 4h daily for 56 days (intermittent hypoxia: IH group) and compared them with rats continuously exposed for 8 weeks (continuous hypoxia: CH group) and control rats breathing room air (normoxic: N group).