Medial Plantar Nerve Shear Wave Elastography and Viscosity Imaging for Differentiating Mild from Moderate Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
- 1The Third Affiliated Clinical Hospital of Changchun University of Chinese Medicine
Abstract
ObjectiveTo examine how medial plantar nerve shear wave speed (Cs) and viscosity coefficient (Vi) are associated with the severity of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and to assess their ability to differentiate adjacent severity categories.
Materials and MethodsBased on TCSS, the 113 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were assigned to the non-DPN (n = 33), mild DPN (n = 46), and moderate DPN (n = 34) groups. Medial plantar nerve Cs and Vi were measured using shear wave elastography and viscosity imaging. Receiver operating characteristic analysis evaluated Cs, Vi, and their logistic regression-based combination; areas under the curves (AUCs) were compared using DeLong tests.
ResultsCs and Vi increased progressively across the three groups (both P < 0.001). For non-DPN versus mild DPN, the AUCs of Cs, Vi, and the combined model were 0.688 (95% CI, 0.604-0.772), 0.741 (0.660-0.822), and 0.745 (0.665-0.826), respectively, without significant pairwise differences. For mild versus moderate DPN, the corresponding AUCs were 0.707 (0.625-0.789), 0.794 (0.724-0.865), and 0.799 (0.731-0.867). The combined model outperformed Cs (P = 0.045), whereas Cs versus Vi and Vi versus the combined model did not differ significantly (P = 0.162 and 1.000, respectively).
ConclusionMedial plantar nerve Cs and Vi increased with DPN severity. Their combination improved discrimination between mild and moderate DPN compared with Cs alone but not with Vi alone. Quantitative medial plantar nerve viscoelastic assessment may complement clinical severity grading.
Related
- Systemic Sclerosis Presenting With Long-Standing Peripheral Neuropathy and Delayed Multisystem Manifestations: A Case Report
- Topical herbal medicine as treatment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
- Diabetes and the Nervous System: Linking Peripheral Neuropathy to Central Neurodegeneration
- Peripheral Neuropathy in Parkinson’s Disease Treated with Device-Assisted Therapies: How Often It Is Reported Depends on How It Is Sought. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Pharmacogenomic predictor of long-term residual chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in ovarian cancer survivors: A substudy of the GINECO Vivrovaire study
BibTeX
@misc{gao2026medial,
title = {{Medial Plantar Nerve Shear Wave Elastography and Viscosity Imaging for Differentiating Mild from Moderate Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy}},
author = {X. Gao and Y. Li},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.28.26361645},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.26361645v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Medial Plantar Nerve Shear Wave Elastography and Viscosity Imaging for Differentiating Mild from Moderate Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
AU - X. Gao
AU - Y. Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.28.26361645
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.26361645v1
AB - ObjectiveTo examine how medial plantar nerve shear wave speed (Cs) and viscosity coefficient (Vi) are associated with the severity of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and to assess their ability to differentiate adjacent severity categories. Materials and MethodsBased on TCSS, the 113 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were assigned to the non-DPN (n = 33), mild DPN (n = 46), and moderate DPN (n = 34) groups. Medial plantar nerve Cs and Vi were measured using shear wave elastography and viscosity imaging. Receiver operating characteristic analysis evaluated Cs, Vi, and their logistic regression-based combination; areas under the curves (AUCs) were compared using DeLong tests. ResultsCs and Vi increased progressively across the three groups (both P < 0.001). For non-DPN versus mild DPN, the AUCs of Cs, Vi, and the combined model were 0.688 (95% CI, 0.604-0.772), 0.741 (0.660-0.822), and 0.745 (0.665-0.826), respectively, without significant pairwise differences. For mild versus moderate DPN, the corresponding AUCs were 0.707 (0.625-0.789), 0.794 (0.724-0.865), and 0.799 (0.731-0.867). The combined model outperformed Cs (P = 0.045), whereas Cs versus Vi and Vi versus the combined model did not differ significantly (P = 0.162 and 1.000, respectively). ConclusionMedial plantar nerve Cs and Vi increased with DPN severity. Their combination improved discrimination between mild and moderate DPN compared with Cs alone but not with Vi alone. Quantitative medial plantar nerve viscoelastic assessment may complement clinical severity grading.
ER -