Neuropathy, Peripheral
Basics
A disease of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) that has multiple etiologies including diabetes, neurotoxic agents, alcohol use, nutrition deficiencies, immune-mediated causes, nerve compression, nerve injury, genetic mutations, and idiopathic (1)
Description
- A functional or structural disorder of the PNS, affecting any combination of motor, sensory, or autonomic nerves
- Peripheral motor involvement causes muscle atrophy, weakness, cramps, and fasciculations.
- Disorders of sensory nerves produce negative phenomena (loss of sensibility, lack of balance) or heightened phenomena (tingling or pain). Large sensory fiber dysfunction impairs touch and vibration sensation, whereas small fiber sensory neuropathy (SFSN) affects pin and thermal sensation and causes neuropathic pain.
- The autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction causes cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and sudomotor symptoms.
- Peripheral neuropathy (PN) can be subdivided as mononeuropathies, multifocal neuropathies, and polyneuropathies.
Epidemiology
Etiology and Pathophysiology
- The most common cause of acquired PN is diabetes mellitus, which manifests most commonly at approximately 75% in the pattern of a distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP).
- Other causes include:
- Vascular: ischemia, vasculitis
- Infectious: HIV, hepatitis C, cryoglobulinemia, Lyme disease, varicella zoster
- Traumatic: compression, crush, stretch, or transection (e.g., due to broken or dislocated bones, slipped disks between vertebrae, arthritis)
- Autoimmune: rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, lupus
- Metabolic: renal failure, hypothyroidism, vitamin B12 deficiency, celiac disease, porphyria
- Iatrogenic/toxic: chemotherapy, platinum, taxanes, metronidazole, colchicine, infliximab, lead, alcoholism
- Neoplastic/paraneoplastic: paraproteinemia, Waldenström macroglobulinemia, multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, neurofibromatosis
Genetics
Approximately 50% of undiagnosed PN is hereditary.
Risk Factors
Diabetes and alcoholism
General Prevention
Management of underlying preventable causes of PN such as glycemic control, nutritional deficiencies, and avoiding neurotoxic agents
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Citation
Domino, Frank J., et al., editors. "Neuropathy, Peripheral." 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 33rd ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2025. Medicine Central, im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688706/all/Neuropathy__Peripheral.
Neuropathy, Peripheral. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, et al, eds. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688706/all/Neuropathy__Peripheral. Accessed October 10, 2024.
Neuropathy, Peripheral. (2025). In Domino, F. J., Baldor, R. A., Golding, J., & Stephens, M. B. (Eds.), 5-Minute Clinical Consult (33rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688706/all/Neuropathy__Peripheral
Neuropathy, Peripheral [Internet]. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, Stephens MBM, editors. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. [cited 2024 October 10]. Available from: https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688706/all/Neuropathy__Peripheral.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Neuropathy, Peripheral
ID - 1688706
ED - Domino,Frank J,
ED - Baldor,Robert A,
ED - Golding,Jeremy,
ED - Stephens,Mark B,
BT - 5-Minute Clinical Consult, Updating
UR - https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688706/all/Neuropathy__Peripheral
PB - Wolters Kluwer
ET - 33
DB - Medicine Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -