Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesDiagnosisTreatmentPrognosis
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prognosis
This article describes the four types of neuropathy, including their symptoms and causes. It also explains how neuropathy is diagnosed and treated.
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Neuropathy Types
Neuropathy can affect different nerves throughout the body. Symptoms vary based on which nerve or nerve group is affected.
Different diseases and disorders can cause neuropathy, some of which can cause more than one type of neuropathy. The injury to the nerve may be direct, such as when anerve is pinchedor severed, or involve destruction to the protective covering of nerves, known asmyelin.
Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathyaffects nerves that enable movement and provide sensation to your arms, legs, hands, and feet. It mainly stems from systemic conditions that affect the entire body.
Peripheral neuropathy is often described as having a “stocking-glove” pattern because it affects the hands and feet more severely. The symptoms are typically symmetrical, meaning that both sides of the body are affected equally.
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can vary in their intensity and may include:
There are many different causes of peripheral neuropathy. Some of the more common include:
Proximal Neuropathy
Proximal neuropathy affects nerves closer to the torso, such as those of the shoulders, upper arms, hips, buttocks, or thighs. The lower body is more commonly affected.
Proximal neuropathy is a rare form of neuropathy closely linked totype 2 diabetes.
Symptoms of proximal neuropathy include:
Proximal neuropathy often starts asymmetrically (on one side of the body more than the other) before becoming symmetrical as the condtions progresses. It can occur on its own or with peripheral neuropathy.
Proximal neuropathy is mostly seen in adults over 50. Males are affected more than females.
Focal Neuropathy
Focal neuropathy is the type that involves a single nerve, most often in the hand, head, torso, or leg. If a focal nerve in the head is affected, it can be described as cranial neuropathy.
Focal neuropathy is often due to a traumatic nerve injury or the entrapment (compression) of a nerve in or around a joint. Depending on the nerve affected, it can cause pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hand, wrist, fingers, foot, or torso.
With cranial neuropathy, symptoms are distinctive and may include:
Focal neuropathy is common and associated with conditions such as:
Autonomic Neuropathy
This type of neuropathy affects the autonomic nerves. These are the nerves that regulate involuntary functions like digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, urination, sexual function, and vision.
As with proximal neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy is predominantly associated with diabetes. Persistently high blood sugar levels can silently damage autonomic nerves, causing a wide range of diverse symptoms such as:
An Overview of Neuropathic Pain
Diagnosing Neuropathy
Diagnosing neuropathy can be difficult because symptoms are often vague and overlap with other types of neuropathy. The aim of the diagnosis is twofold: to characterize the severity of your symptoms and to identify the underlying cause.
The diagnosis of neuropathy typically starts with a review of your symptoms and medical history, including your drinking habits, chronic health conditions, medication use, and family history of neurological or autoimmune diseases.
Based on the suspected cause, your healthcare provider may order tests and procedures like:
Neuropathy Treatment
Neuropathy can occur due to damage of themyelin, which is a fatty layer of protection surrounding the nerves, or in severe cases, nerve damage may occur. The body naturally can renew myelin, so sometimesdemyelination(loss of myelin) can heal if the damage stops occurring.
Treatments for neuropathymay include:
Symptomatic and Supportive Treatment
The pain of neuropathy can be distressing, and it can interfere with your quality of life and with your ability to be active. Symptomatic treatment is important, but it does not heal the myelin or the nerve and it does not prevent neuropathy from worsening.
Medications that are often used to control neuropathic pain include antidepressants and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs, which typically are used to treat nerve cell activity causing seizures). These medications affect nerve activity in a way that can subdue the pain. Generally, the medications must be taken several times per day for pain relief.
Over time, neuropathic pain can change, and you might need to use higher medication doses, or you might not need to continue medication for pain control.
Standard pain medications are not typically effective for controlling neuropathic pain.
Some neuropathies are not expected to improve.Diabetic neuropathyand alcoholic neuropathy, for example, can stabilize with treatment, but the damage is not likely to heal.
On the other hand, focal neuropathy can often improve with treatment, often with the complete resolution of symptoms.
Summary
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Zoccarato M, Grisold W, Grisold A, Poretto V, Boso F, Giometto B.Paraneoplastic neuropathies: What’s new since the 2004 recommended diagnostic criteria.Front Neurol.2021;12:706169. doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.706169National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Peripheral neuropathy.Castelli G, Desai KM, Cantone RE.Peripheral neuropathy: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2020;102(12):732-739.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Proximal neuropathy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Focal neuropathy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Autonomic neuropathy.Chung T, Prasad K, Lloyd TE.Peripheral neuropathy: clinical and electrophysiological considerations.Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2014;24(1):49–65. doi:10.1016/j.nic.2013.03.023
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Zoccarato M, Grisold W, Grisold A, Poretto V, Boso F, Giometto B.Paraneoplastic neuropathies: What’s new since the 2004 recommended diagnostic criteria.Front Neurol.2021;12:706169. doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.706169National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Peripheral neuropathy.Castelli G, Desai KM, Cantone RE.Peripheral neuropathy: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2020;102(12):732-739.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Proximal neuropathy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Focal neuropathy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Autonomic neuropathy.Chung T, Prasad K, Lloyd TE.Peripheral neuropathy: clinical and electrophysiological considerations.Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2014;24(1):49–65. doi:10.1016/j.nic.2013.03.023
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Zoccarato M, Grisold W, Grisold A, Poretto V, Boso F, Giometto B.Paraneoplastic neuropathies: What’s new since the 2004 recommended diagnostic criteria.Front Neurol.2021;12:706169. doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.706169National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Peripheral neuropathy.Castelli G, Desai KM, Cantone RE.Peripheral neuropathy: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2020;102(12):732-739.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Proximal neuropathy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Focal neuropathy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Autonomic neuropathy.Chung T, Prasad K, Lloyd TE.Peripheral neuropathy: clinical and electrophysiological considerations.Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2014;24(1):49–65. doi:10.1016/j.nic.2013.03.023
Zoccarato M, Grisold W, Grisold A, Poretto V, Boso F, Giometto B.Paraneoplastic neuropathies: What’s new since the 2004 recommended diagnostic criteria.Front Neurol.2021;12:706169. doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.706169
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Peripheral neuropathy.
Castelli G, Desai KM, Cantone RE.Peripheral neuropathy: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2020;102(12):732-739.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Proximal neuropathy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Focal neuropathy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Autonomic neuropathy.
Chung T, Prasad K, Lloyd TE.Peripheral neuropathy: clinical and electrophysiological considerations.Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2014;24(1):49–65. doi:10.1016/j.nic.2013.03.023
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