Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Diabetes, Neurology / 17.05.2019
Drivers with Diabetic Neuropathy May Need Assistance Controlling Accelerator Pedal
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Monica Perazzolo
Research Centre for Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine
School of Healthcare Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering,
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences
University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Our research on motor control in diabetes focussed on the effect of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on driving. Drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy showed a less well controlled use of the accelerator pedal and sometimes larger, faster steering corrections needed to stay in lane when driving a simulator compared to healthy drivers and people with diabetes but no neuropathy.
Despite these negative findings, an important result is that drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy demonstrated an improvement in their driving with practice.
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