Device improves nerve sensation in diabetics

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Device improves nerve sensation in diabetics

Last Updated: 2004-01-02 15:54:46 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poor nerve sensation is a common problem for

patients with diabetes, but a new device that uses near-infrared light

may provide dramatic improvements, new research suggests. However, the

benefits seem to be limited to patients without severe impairment of

sensation.

Treatment with the device, marketed as the Anodyne Therapy System (ATS),

appears to restore sensation, reduce pain, and improve balance in

patients with nerve damage known as diabetic peripheral neuropathy. ATS

is a non-invasive treatment that is thought to increase blood flow by

dilating blood vessels.

In a preliminary study, ATS reversed the symptoms of neuropathy, but it

was unclear if the device would prove beneficial in a trial comparing it

with a similar-appearing, but fake " sham " treatment.

To test this, Dr. R. Leonard and colleagues, from the Joslin

Center for Diabetes in Clearwater, Florida, assessed the outcomes of 27

patients with diabetic neuropathy who were treated with sham or real ATS

for 2 weeks and then real therapy for 2 more weeks. Treatments were

given three times per week.

As reported in the medical journal Diabetes Care, the study group

included 18 patients with moderate sensory problems and 9 with more

severe impairments.

In the group with moderate problems, both 6 and 12 weeks of ATS were

associated with a dramatic drop in the number of body sites lacking

sensation. In contrast, no sensory improvements were seen with sham

therapy. ATS therapy was also tied to a reduction in pain and with

improvements in balance.

In patients with more severe impairments, however, ATS did not produce

significant improvements in sensation, pain, or balance.

Although the results are " encouraging, " the authors note that " more

discreet quantitative sensory tests would be helpful in determining the

exact degree of sensory improvement experienced after the administration

of ATS treatments. " A new study incorporating such tests is currently

underway, they add.

SOURCE Diabetes Care, January 2004.