Background And Purpose: Peripheral neuropathies (PNs) are a common but poorly understood complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To clarify the initial trigger of a PN in COPD, we investigated the excitability of peripheral nerves in patients with COPD.

Methods: The automated nerve excitability test (NET) using the threshold-tracking paradigm was applied to 20 COPD patients. The recording protocol calculated the strength-duration time constant, threshold electrotonus (TE), current-threshold relationship, and recovery cycle (RC). Each NET parameter was compared with two control groups: normal controls group (NC group) and smokers without COPD group (smoker group).

Results: In the motor NETs, the change in the threshold in the mid-depolarizing phase of TE (40-60 ms) was smaller in the COPD group (50.7%±1.2%, mean±SEM; =20) than in the NC group (54.5%±0.7%, =25; <0.01), as was the prominence of superexcitability in the RC (-22.6%±1.5% and -26.4%±1.1%, respectively; =0.04). There were no significant differences in the sensory NETs. Comparisons between the COPD and smoker groups (=25) also showed no differences in either the motor or sensory NETs.

Conclusions: The pattern of excitability in COPD revealed a membrane depolarization attributable to Na-K-ATPase failure in the axolemma of distal motor nerves. This finding suggests that chronic hypoxemia and adaptative process can alter axonal excitability and trigger a resultant neuropathic process that is antecedent to PN in COPD.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9982175PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3988/jcn.2022.0249DOI Listing

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