DO RHEOLOGICAL VARIABLES PLAY A ROLE IN DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY

Whole blood viscosity and its determinants were measured in diabetic patients with and without peripheral neuropathy to assess whether these variables could have a role in the microvascular aetiology of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Although corrected whole blood viscosity at high and low shear rates (5.29 ± 0.51 and 21.10 ± 3.03 mPa s), plasma viscosity (1.41 ± 0.13 mPa s), and red cell filtration ratio (0.49 ± 0.04) in diabetic patients were significantly different from non-diabetic control subjects (high shear rate 4.83 ± 0.54, low shear rate 17.36 ± 2.78, plasma 1.29 ± 0.09 mPa s, all p < 0.001, and red cell filtration ratio 0.55 ± 0.03, p < 0.001) there were no significant differences between diabetic patients with neuropathy and those without. Blood rheology is altered to a similar extent in diabetic patients with and without neuropathy.