Electroneurographic evidence of polyneuropathy in chronic liver disease.

An electroneurographic study performed on the peripheral nerves of 25 patients with severe cirrhosis following viral hepatitis showed slight slowing (P greater than 0.05) of motor conduction velocity (CV) and significant diminution (P less than 0.001) of sensory CV and mixed sensorimotor-evoked potentials, associated with a significant decrease in the amplitude of sensory evoked potentials. The slowing was about equal in the distal (digital) and in the proximal segments of the same nerve. A mixed axonal degeneration and segmental demyelination is presumed to explain these findings. The CV measurements proved helpful for an early diagnosis of hepatic polyneuropathy showing subjective symptoms in the subclinical stage.