STABL-PIN
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Stability of HRDD in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
IRAS ID
357832
Contact name
Uazman Alam
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
Damage to the nerve fibres in individuals with diabetes (diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN)) is the most common cause of nerve damage (neuropathy) worldwide, affecting around half of all people with diabetes (260 million globally). Pain as a result of this nerve damage (neuropathic pain) is also a major feature of DPN in around one-third of all patients. One potentially important pain generating process in painful diabetic neuropathy (pDPN) is spinal disinhibition, whereby a failure to suppress or an amplification of incoming signals results in an increase of pain. A biological marker of spinal inhibition is the change in the size of a reflex called the H-reflex during repeated electrical stimulations - H-reflex Rate Dependent Depression (HRDD). We have demonstrated that HRDD is impaired in patients with pDPN.
This study aims to (1) use HRDD to assess the presence or absence of spinal disinhibition in individuals with pDPN (2) determine the repeatability and reproducibility of HRDD in a clinical population of patients with pDPN (3) generate indicative data as to whether HRDD alters over time in people with pDPN who are on standard-of-care anti-neuropathic pain medication.
The findings will determine whether HRDD represents a reliable and robust biomarker for identifying patients with pDPN and spinal disinhibition who may benefit from targeted therapies that reverse spinal disinhibition.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SW/0114
Date of REC Opinion
16 Dec 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion