Affiliations 

  • 1 Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pathology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. gohkj@ummc.edu.my
Rheumatol Int, 2021 02;41(2):355-360.
PMID: 32488429 DOI: 10.1007/s00296-020-04610-8

Abstract

Asymptomatic electrophysiological peripheral neuropathy is described in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. To determine if SLE could have an even earlier effect on peripheral nerve function even before the development of electrophysiological abnormalities, we compared nerve conduction studies (NCS) of SLE patients without electrophysiological or clinical peripheral neuropathy with healthy controls. Consecutive SLE patients without clinical neuropathy (or other known causes of neuropathy) underwent sensory and motor NCS of all four limbs. Results of 61 patients without electrophysiological criteria of neuropathy were compared with age- and gender-matched controls. Although still within the laboratory's range of normal values, significant differences were found in several NCS parameters between patients and controls. SLE patients had lower amplitudes for ulnar, fibular, and tibial compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) and sural sensory nerve action potentials (SNAP); slower conduction velocities for median, ulnar, and fibular motor nerves, and median, ulnar and sural sensory nerves. SLE patients also had longer minimum F-wave latencies for median, ulnar, fibular, and tibial nerves. H reflexes were more often absent in patients. Correlations were found between the number of disease relapses and motor conduction velocities of the fibular and tibial nerves. SLE may have early effect on peripheral nerve function in patients even before they develop electrophysiological or clinical neuropathy.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.