The Value of Muscle Thickness of Lower Limbs in Detection of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

  Background: Neuropathy stands out as the highest-prevalence diabetes-related complication, impacting no less than 50% of individuals with diabetes throughout their lifespan. As The most common reason for disability due to walking difficulties, foot ulcerations, and limb loss, DPN is worthy of study, and early diagnosis of DPN signs is required. Objectives: This study aims to aid in the identification of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) by determining the muscle thickness of the lower extremities in patients with DPN. Patients and Methods: The study included 24 subjects with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and 25 individuals as a control group, subdivided into 8 diabetic patients without DPN and 17 healthy individuals. Both control and DPN subjects underwent bilateral peroneal and tibial motor nerve conduction studies (NCS) and high-resolution muscle ultrasounds to measure muscle thickness. Abductor hallucis muscle (AH), extensor digitorum brevis muscle (EDB), extensor hallucis longus muscle (EHL), tibialis anterior muscle (TA), and rectus femoris muscle (RF) were evaluated on both sides using ultrasound. Results: Comparing the tested muscles to the control group, the study revealed a statistically significant decrease in the thickness of many of the muscles being tested when compared to the control group. Conclusions: These findings point to the possibility that quantitative muscle ultrasound could be beneficial in identifying muscle changes associated with DPN. It is necessary to conduct additional studies to verify the results in larger samples of diabetic patients. Keywords: Neuromuscular Ultrasound, Muscle Thickness, Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy