Reduced Innervation of Sweat Glands in Diabetic Neuropathy

A novel technique to quantify nerves around sweat glands allows identification of reduced innervation in diabetic neuropathy that correlates with neuropathy severity.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel method for quantification of sweat gland innervation and to investigate whether the values obtained correlate with severity of diabetic neuropathy. Investigators obtained skin-punch biopsy samples from the thigh and lower leg of 30 patients with diabetes and mild neuropathy and 64 healthy subjects. After immunostaining the samples for sweat glands and for nerve fibers, the investigators viewed sections in a fluorescence microscope and used an overlaid grid to measure density of sweat gland innervation.

Intra- and interobserver reliability with the technique were high, as was correlation with a stereologic method of quantifying innervation density. The patients with diabetes had less sweat gland i…

Reviewing Author

Claudia Sommer, MD

Reduced Innervation of Sweat Glands in Diabetic Neuropathy

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Reviewing Author