Peripheral neuropathy (polyneuropathy)

Etiology

Metabolic & Systemic

  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Alcoholism
  • Uremia
  • Thiamine deficiency
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Amyloidosis
  • Cryoglobulinemia
  • Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Paraneoplastic syndrome, eg, lung cancer
  • Neuropathy associated with critical illness
Infectious & Inflammatory
  • Hansen’s disease (leprosy)
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Lyme disease
  • Diphtheritic neuropathy
  • Polyarteritis nodosa
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Temporal (giant cell) arteritis
Toxic
  • Metals: lead, mercury, arsenic, thallium
  • Drugs: isoniazid, phenytoin, pyridoxine, nitrofurantoin, vincristine
  • Industrial agents or pesticides: acrylamide, organophosphates, hexacarbon solvents, methyl bromide, carbon disulfide
Hereditary
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, HMSN type I & II)
  • Porphyria
  • Friedrich’s ataxia
  • Dejerine-Sottas disease (HMSN type III)
  • Refsum disease (HMSN type IV)
Mostly motor
  • Guillain-Barré syndrome
  • Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
  • Porphyria
  • Diphtheritic neuropathy
  • Toxic neuropathy
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Periodic paralysis syndrome

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Last updated: December 1, 2014