Laser Doppler flowmetry in the assessment of skin microcirculatory disorders in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy. Part 1

Diabetic polyneuropathy is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes mellitus, characterized by damage to nerve fibers and leading to reduced employability and quality of life. It can contribute to dysregulation of blood flow, including skin microcirculation. These deviations can be detected using the method of laser Doppler flowmetry, based on recording changes in the frequency of a laser beam as it passes through tissue and is reflected from moving blood cells. The identification of skin perfusion abnormalities may be important for understanding the pathophysiology of nerve fiber and vascular lesions in diabetes mellitus. The aim of this review is to examine the relationship between changes in skin microcirculation and diabetic polyneuropathy. The first part of the review is devoted to the study of skin microcirculation at rest (without the use of functional tests) in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy. The original studies published from 1980 to the present, which are listed in the PubMed database, are reviewed. A number of articles show that the presence of diabetic polyneuropathy is associated with changes in skin microcirculation (tendency to increase baseline perfusion and decrease amplitude of microvascular vasomotions) measured by laser Doppler flowmetry. This may be useful to better understanding the pathophysiology of diabetic polyneuropathy.