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Define Neuropathy

Neuropathy is a common illness, yet surprisingly little information has been gathered on its treatment. While the most commonly diagnosed cause of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes, there are several other causes. Around 30% of neuropathy cases result in an undetermined cause, and several more cases are incorrectly diagnosed.

  1. The Facts

    • Neuropathy (also known as peripheral neuropathy) is a disorder of the motor, sensory and autonomic nerves. It's a fairly common illness and affects nearly 20 million Americans. There are currently more than 100 known types of the illness. Neuropathy most commonly occurs in older adults, but can occur at any age.

    Features

    • Neuropathy typically affects the hands and feet. It can cause weakness, tingling, pain, and numbness to the body. Neuropathy is sometimes severe, but can also slowly progress over a period of years. Most types of neuropathy can't be cured, but they can be treated and often times controlled if detected early.

    Identification

    • With so many types of neuropathy, symptoms vary between individuals. However, all types of the illness affect three types of nerves, those being motor nerves (affect muscles), sensory nerves (affect sensation), and autonomic nerves (affect internal organs). Typical warning signs described by patients can include weakness in the arms and legs, numbness and tingling, pinching and pain, an impaired sense of position, walking differently, strange sensations on hands and feet, and so forth

    Causes

    • The most commonly known cause of neuropathy (30% of cases) is diabetes. Other commonly diagnosed causes include autoimmune disorders, tumors, poor nutrition, and infections. About 30% of neuropathy cases are deemed "idiopathic," meaning that the cause of the illness is unknown.

    Considerations

    • According to The Neuropathy Association, public awareness of neuropathy is seemingly low. Neuropathy hasn't received significant attention in the medical community, and is often misdiagnosed. The development of new therapies and other solutions to neuropathy have been slow.

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