This study examines the long-term effects of exercise treatment in both type 1 and 2 diabetics. The 78 subjects had no signs or symptoms of diabetic neuropathy and their duration of diabetes averaged at 8.7 years. They were randomized into two groups; one group performed a supervised 4 hour per week treadmill session. The other group did not perform any supervised activity for the entire 4 year period of the study. Neurophysiological measurements were taken throughout the study. The exercise group was enrolled in a treadmill walking program. After 4 years there the investigators found specific changes in some, but not all, parameters in clinical characteristics between the two groups. Although the A1C of the exercise group dropped 0.42 points, meanwhile the control group increased 0.14 points. The nerve conduction velocity of the peroneal motor nerve increased significantly in the exercise group. There was no significant increase in nerve conduction velocity for the sural sensory nerve in the exercise group but there was a significant decrease in the control group. In the exercise group, 0% of the participants developed motor neuropathy at the end of the study while 17% of the control group developed motor neuropathy. Meanwhile 6.45% of the exercise group developed sensory neuropathy compared to 29.8% in the control group.
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