Estimates of functional motor axon loss in diabetics

Estimates of the number of motor units in extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) and in the thenar muscles were made electrophysiologically in a group of 66 diabetic subjects. Loss of motor units was common in those with no clinical evidence of neuropathy and was most severe in EDB. The clinical form of the neuropathy was a poor guide to the severity of EDB or thenar motor unit loss. Motor unit losses in diabetics 60 years of age or over did not …