01723nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002200055653001100077653002500088653001700113653001700130653002200147653002200169653000900191653001000200100001400210700001100224700001600235700001600251245004900267300001000316490000700326520109800333022001401431       2003                            d  c2003 Oct10aElectrophysiology10aHumans10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aMedian Nerve10aNerve Fibers10aNeural Conduction10aNeurons, Afferent10aPain10aTouch1 aMarques W1 aFoss N1 aArruda AP M1 aBarreira AA00aNear-nerve potential in lepromatous leprosy.  a460-30 v283 a<p>In leprosy, sensory action potentials (SAPs) may be normal in spite of clinical sensory loss. This may result from the early involvement of small nerve fibers, which have potentials that are not detected in routine studies. To evaluate this possibility, we used a near-nerve recording technique that records potentials from nerve fibers as small as 4-6 microm in diameter. We hypothesized that this technique might increase the sensitivity of nerve conduction studies in detecting leprosy neuropathy. We found the technique to be useful for recording conduction abnormalities in recently diagnosed patients, including those with preserved sensation, suggesting that axonal loss may be the underlying mechanism. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, recording the late SAP components did not improve the sensitivity of nerve conduction studies. We suggest that the late components having normal conduction velocities may be generated by either regenerating or remyelinating abnormal fibers, which have an electrophysiological behavior similar to that of normal 4-6-microm-diameter fibers.</p>  a0148-639X