Previous Section
Diagnosis of Peripheral Neuropathy
Underlying Causes of Neuropathy
Underlying causes of neuropathy to be considered in the evaluation of patients with suspected neuropathic pain include:
Acute ascending motor paralysis with minimal sensory disturbance
- Guillan-Barre syndrome
- diphteritic polyneuropathy (muscles of swallowing and speech are also involved)
Mononeuropathy multiplex
- diabetes mellitus
- sarcoidosis
- polyarteritis nodosa
Subacute sensorimotor polyneuropathy
- nutritional deficiencies - thiamine; niacin ; or vitamin B12 deficiency
- poisoning with heavy metals and solvents
- drug intoxication
- metabolic syndrome
- diabetes mellitus
Chronic sensorimotor polyneuropathy
- connective tissue diseases
- uremia - the buildup of urea in the blood because the kidneys are not working effectively)
- beriberi
- carcinoma (e.g., paraneoplastic syndrome)
- paraproteinemia
- hypothyroidism
- amyloidosis
- diabetes mellitus
- leprosy
