Disturbed vibrotactile sense in finger pulps in patients with Type 1 diabetes--correlations with glycaemic level, clinical examination and electrophysiology.

Aims: In a cohort of men and women with Type 1 diabetes, prospectively followed for > 20 years, vibrotactile sense in fingers was investigated and related to neurophysiological tests, glycaemic level and clinical score.

Methods: Out of 58 patients, diagnosed at the age of 15-25 years and recruited 1984-1985, 32 patients (13 women, median age 52 years, range 44-75 years; 19 men, median age 52 years, range 39-69 years; median duration 33.5 years, range 21-52 years) accepted follow-up in 2006.

Assessment of autonomic symptoms in diabetics: the Swedish version of the Autonomic Symptom Profile.

Objectives: Autonomic dysfunction (AD) is a complication of diabetes and may be associated with troubling symptoms and increased mortality. Commonly, AD is detected by objective physiological tests and only recently, a validated self-completed English questionnaire assessing AD symptoms, the Autonomic Symptom Profile (ASP), was developed. The aims of this study were to translate the ASP into Swedish and evaluate its reliability and validity.

Autonomic nervous symptoms in primary Sjogren's syndrome.

Objectives: Objective signs of autonomic dysfunction (AD) have been reported in patients with primary SS (pSS) while the presence of associated symptoms has not been systematically studied. Therefore, the aims of this study were (i) to assess the presence and severity of various AD symptoms in pSS patients and (ii) to relate AD symptoms to other clinical features of pSS.

Methods: Thirty-eight pSS patients and 200 population-based controls were studied for presence and severity of AD symptoms using the Autonomic Symptom Profile (ASP), a validated self-completed questionnaire evaluating various AD symptoms.

Autoantibodies to autonomic nerves associated with cardiac and peripheral autonomic neuropathy.

Objective: This study examines whether autonomic nerve autoantibodies (ANabs) are associated with development of autonomic neuropathy using a prospective study design.

Research Design And Methods: A group of type 1 diabetic patients were followed prospectively with regard to autonomic nerve function on four occasions. At the third examination, 41 patients were tested for ANabs (complement-fixing autoantibodies to the sympathetic ganglion, vagus nerve, and adrenal medulla), and the results were related to cardiac autonomic nerve function (heart rate variation during deep breathing [expiration/inspiration ratio] and heart-rate reaction to tilt [acceleration and brake index]) and to peripheral sympathetic nerve function (vasoconstriction after indirect cooling [vasoconstriction index]).