A STUDY OF SENSORY NERVE CONDUCTION AND REACTION TIME IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED UNTREATED HYPOTHYROID SUBJECTS

Mahadule AA; Jadhao PS; Phatak MS

Volume : VII, Issue : VI, June - 2018

A STUDY OF SENSORY NERVE CONDUCTION AND REACTION TIME IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED UNTREATED HYPOTHYROID SUBJECTS

Mahadule Aa, Jadhao Ps, Phatak Ms

Abstract :

Long term and untreated Hypothyroidism is known to be associated with peripheral neuropathy. The peripheral nerve involvement may begin at the early phase of the disease and may or may not manifest by the time of diagnosis. Objective was to assess functional status of the peripheral sensory nerves with nerve conduction study and sensory–motor coordination with audiovisual reaction times in newly diagnosed and untreated hypothyroidism. The study included a total of 120 female subjects with age ranging from 20 to 45 years. The bilateral sensory nerve conduction parameters viz. onset latency, amplitude of sensory nerve action potential and sensory nerve conduction velocity in median and sural nerves and Audio–visual reaction times were recorded in them using standard protocols and settings. The observations revealed significantly altered sensory nerve conduction parameters in terms of prolonged latencies, reduced SNAP amplitudes and slowed SNCV along with significantly delayed reaction times in hypothyroid females. The study indicated impairment of peripheral as well as central nervous system functions at the early phase of hypothyroidism and suggested utility of electro–physiological studies as a useful non–invasive tool for the detection of clinically silent neural involvement at the early stage of the disease.