Article 20

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -A total of 50 adult patients with type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathic pain of [greater than]6 months duration involving the lower extremities were randomly assigned to receive active PENS (needles with electrical stimulation at an alternating frequency of 15 and 30 Hz) and sham (needles only) treatments for 3 weeks. Each series of treatments was administered for 30 min three times a week according to a standardized protocol. After a 1-week washout period, all patients were subsequently switched to the other modality A 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess pain, physical activity and quality of sleep before each session. The changes in VAS scores and daily requirements for oral analgesic medication were determined during each 3-week treatment period. Patients completed the MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) before and after completion of each treatment modality At the end of the crossover study a patient preference questionnaire was used to compare the effectiveness of the two modalities.