Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2010 , Vol 13, Issue 2
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAINFUL DIABETIC POLYNEUROPATHY AND HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA AND HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA
Semra ÖZTÜRK-MUNGAN1, Şevki ŞAHİN3, Meral KIZILTAN2
1Ankara Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, 1. Nöroloji Kliniği ANKARA
2İstanbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi Nöroloji Anabilim Dalı İSTANBUL
3Maltepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Nöroloji Aanabilim Dalı İSTANBUL
Introduction: The presence of lipid metabolism disorders in diabetic and painful neuropathies, and the existence of some observations and articles supporting this coexistence states a doubt whether there is a correlation between painful diabetic neuropathy and lipid metabolism disorder. This study was planned to investigate the relation between lipid metabolism and peripheral neuropathy.

Materials and Method: Our study included a patient group of 90 who were diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy and a control group of 20 patients without diabetic neuropathy who had mild paresthetic complaints and hyperlipidemia. Patients were evaluated with a detailed history of the illness and neurological examination, total neuropathy score, EMG, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, total blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Results: In 49 out of 90 patients, painful diabetic neuropathy was diagnosed. The groups with and without pain were compared and tested for presence of correlation. Significant associations with fibular nerve response amplitude and cholesterol levels were found (p=0.006) while no correlations with triglyceride levels were observed (p=0.827). The blood lipid levels, especially triglyceride levels, were found to be increased both in painful diabetic neuropathy patients and the ones with positive sensory symptoms.

Conclusion: In conclusion, although no statistical significance was found between painful diabetic polyneuropathy and hypertriglyceridemia/hypercholesterolemia, triglyceride levels were found to be increased. This finding warrants further investigation on this subject. Keywords : Aged; Diabetic Neuropathies; Hypertriglyceridemia; Hypercholesterolemia