J Korean Neurol Assoc.  1999 Sep;17(5):675-682.

T-reflex Changes in Asymptomatic Diabetics

• An KH
• Cho YJ
• Kim SH
• Sa EH
• Yim YB
• Kim DS
• Jung DS
• Park KH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The loss or depression of ankle jerk has been considered one of the earliest physical findings of diabetic polyneuropathy, even in asymptomatic cases. Therefore, the electronic ankle T-reflex test (ATR) could be a sensitive, objective test for the early detection of polyneuropathy among diabetics. METHOD: In order to verify the sensitivity and usefulness of the ATR, the ankle jerk and ATR were studied in 99 legs of 50 patients with diabetes who did not have any symptoms related to neuropathy or peripheral vascular disease at the time of the study. A sensory nerve conduction study (SNCS) of sural and superficial peroneal nerves was also performed and the results were compared with the ATR.
RESULTS
The ATR response was abnormal in 42.4% of the legs tested and was more sensitive than the sural SNCS (18.2%) or superficial peroneal SNCS (30.3%) in revealing subclinical abnormalities. Our results confirm that ATR abnormalities in asymptomatic diabetics are more frequent than conventional SNCS abnormalities and are a reliable indicator of peripheral nerve dysfunction in diabetic patients.
CONCLUSIONS
The ATR seems to be a sensitive test in detecting subclinical abnormalities in diabetics and would be useful especially in early or equivocal cases of

Keyword

Diabetes mellitus; Subclinical neuropathy; Ankle jerk; Electronic T-reflex; Electrophysiology

MeSH Terms

Ankle
Depression
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetic Neuropathies
Electrophysiology
Humans
Leg
Neural Conduction
Peripheral Nerves
Peripheral Vascular Diseases
Peroneal Nerve
Polyneuropathies