Extraction of significant nerve conduction predictors in early diagnosis of leprosy

Compound nerve action potentials were obtained from 25 normal subjects and 21 leprosy patients after electrical stimulation of median nerves. Parameters such as sensory nerve conduction velocity, motor threshold of stimulation and peak to peak amplitudes were measured. Responses were recorded from two orthodromal locations and one antidromal site. Multivariate analysis was applied on the data to determine the discriminating power of each of the parameters. Results clearly indicate the suitability of amplitudes more than conduction velocities in correctly quantifying neural abnormalities. Clinical correlation studies confirm these results.