Assessment of the influence of peripheral neurocirculatory status immediately after a thermosulfurous bath in diabetic neuropathy

The authors record the microcirculator modifications as an indirect objective measure of sympathetic activation induced by a thermosulfurous bath. The noninvasive photoplethysmographic technique used permits a quantitative evaluation of microcirculation recording from toes or fingers. The resulting amplitudes of the characteristic waves, especially the proportional variation (increase) of the amplitude 15 minutes after the bath, as compared to the basal values in 17 diabetic patients (7 M; 10 F; mean age: 54.4+or-12 yr; duration of diabetes; 8+or-3 yr), showed an increase of 80+or-28%.<
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