Summary
Resistance to ischaemic conduction failure is a recognised but unexplained property of diabetic peripheral nerve. We have studied matched groups of control, diabetic, and non-diabetic hypoxic subjects (hypoxia: arterial oxygen tension ⩽ 60 mm Hg (8 kPa) on at least one occasion and secondary to chronic lung disease). Similar resistance to ischaemia was seen in the hypoxic and diabetic groups compared with control subjects (p<0.001). The degree of resistance correlated with arterial oxygen tension at the time of testing (r = 0.72, p<0.01). In all individuals with acute exacerbations of hypoxia, the resistance to ischaemia was normalised with improvement of respiratory function (p<0.02). These results are compatible with the hypothesis that endoneurial hypoxia may be a factor in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy.
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Masson, E.A., Church, S.E., Woodcock, A.A. et al. Is resistance to ischaemic conduction failure induced by hypoxia?. Diabetologia 31, 762–765 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00274780
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00274780