How Neuropathy Is Classified

Today's post from rayanwrd.com (see link below) is a technical one and a sort of thesaurus of neuropathic terminology. When you go to the doctor and have gone through a series of tests, you may receive an explanation and diagnosis which may leave you feeling you need a translation. Unfortunately, there are over 100 forms of neuropathy and equally as many causes and treatments. It can be very confusing indeed, so a list like the one below can be useful in helping you place your own neuropathy amongst all the rest. Even then, some of these below can have grey areas which makes definitive diagnosis so difficult for neurologists. Still, knowing roughly where you fit into the neuropathy family will help you understand it better.

Classification of Neuropathy by Location & Fiber Type

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 

Classification of Neuropathy by Location

 Classification of Neuropathy by Fiber Type

Small-fiber sensory (painful neuropathies and dissociated sensory loss)  Hereditary sensory neuropathies (early)  Lepromatous leprosy  Diabetic (includes glucose intolerance) small-fiber neuropathy  Amyloidosis  Analphalipoproteinemia (Tangier disease)  Fabry's disease (pain predominates)  Dysautonomia (Riley-Day syndrome)  HIV and antiretroviral therapy neuropathy

Large-fiber sensory (ataxic-neuropathies)  Sjögren's syndrome  Vitamin B12 neuropathy (from dorsal column involvement)
  Cisplatin neuropathy  Pyridoxine toxicity  Friedreich's ataxia

Small- and large-fiber: Global sensory loss  Carcinomatous sensory neuropathy  Hereditary sensory neuropathies (recessive and dominant)  Diabetic sensory neuropathy  Vacor intoxication  Xanthomatous neuropathy of primary biliary cirrhosis (tabes dorsalis)

Motor-predominant neuropathies  Immune neuropathies: acute (Guillain-Barré syndrome); relapsing  Heritable motor-sensory neuropathies  Acute intermittent porphyria  Diphtheritic neuropathy  Lead neuropathy  Brachial neuritis  Diabetic lumbosacralplexus neuropathy (diabetic amyotrophy)

Autonomic  Acute: Acute pandysautonomic neuropathy, botulism, porphyria, GBS, vacore, amiodarone, vincristine  Chronic: Amyloid, diabetes, Sjögren's, HSAN I and III (Riley-Day), Chagas, paraneoplastic

 Classification of Neuropathy by Histopathology




Note: UE, LE, upper, lower extremities; DTRs, deep tendon reflexes; NCS, nerve conduction studies; GBS, Guillain-Barré syndrome; CIDP, chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy; DM, diabetes mellitus; MMN, multifocal motor neuropathy; CMT, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

 Classification of Neuropathy by Time Course

Acute  GBS, porphyria, toxic (triorthocresyl phosphate, vacor, thallium), diphtheria, brachial neuritis

Subacute  Toxic (hexacarbon, acrylamid), angiopathic, nutritional, alcoholic

Chronic  Diabetic, CIDP, paraneoplastic, paraprotein

Longstanding heritable  CMT, Friedreich's ataxia

Recurrent

  Relapsing CIDP, porphyria, Refsum's disease, HNPP

Note: GBS, Guillain-Barré syndrome; CIDP, chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy; CMT, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (disease); HNPP, hereditary neuropathy with pressure palsies.

Pain management usually begins with tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) such as amitriptyline, imipramine, and desipramine, which can reduce burning, aching, sharp, throbbing, and stinging

http://www.rayanwrd.com/2012/09/classification-of-neuropathy-by.html