Peripheral neuropathy is a serious complication of diabetes resulting in numbness, pain and weakness in the lower limb and significantly increasing the risk of lower limb ulceration and amputation. Our research utilises nerve excitability techniques to investigate ion channel dysfunction in diabetic patients both with and without neuropathy.
Although vast improvements in the knowledge of the mechanisms underlying nerve dysfunction in diabetics have occurred, the pathophysiology remains elusive. In order to better understand the natural history and pathophysiology of diabetic neuropathy, longitudinal studies of axonal ion channel function in diabetic patients are currently being undertaken.
