1809-PUB: Painful Diabetic Neuropathy—Patients Treated with High-Frequency (10 kHz) Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) Experience Significant Reductions in A1C and Weight

Abstract

Objective: Up to 9 million Americans have painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN), which can be debilitating. For PDN patients, 10 kHz SCS has been shown to provide mean pain relief of 77% at 24 months (24M), and here we report secondary, novel potential benefits for A1C and body weight.Methods: Subjects received a 10 kHz SCS implant plus medical management for their pain and diabetes. Subjects were followed for 24M post-implantation. Key inclusion criteria were: PDN ≥12M refractory to medications, lower limb pain ≥5cm (10cm VAS), and A1C ≤10%. For T2D subjects, changes in weight were evaluated for all subjects and cohorts with pre-implant BMI ≥30 and ≥35, and changes in A1C were evaluated for cohorts with pre-implant A1C ≥7.0% and ≥8.0%.Results: For cohorts evaluated, A1C and weight generally decreased with time (Fig. 1). For subjects with pre-implant A1C ≥8.0%, the mean A1C reduction was 0.52% at 6M (p=0.064) and 1.04% at 24M (p=0.007). For all subjects, the mean weight reduction was 1.8 kg at 12M (p=0.058) and 3.1 kg at 24M (p=0.003). For subjects with pre-implant BMI ≥35, the mean weight reduction was 5.4 kg at 24M (p=0.005).Conclusions: Previously reported pain relief and sensory improvement, coupled with reductions in A1C and weight reported here, further demonstrate the benefits of 10 kHz SCS treatment in the comprehensive care of T2D patients with PDN.