Overview of Neuropathy
Basic information about neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy refers to disorders of the peripheral nervous system, which is made up of the nerves that branch out of the spinal cord to all parts of the body.
Peripheral nerve cells are comprised of three main parts: cell body, axons, and dendrites. Damage to axons is most common, although any part of the nerve can be affected. Most axons are surrounded by a substance called myelin, which facilitates signal transmission. The axon transmits signals from nerve cell to nerve cell.
Peripheral neuropathy can be associated with poor nutrition, a number of diseases, and pressure or trauma, although many people suffer from the disorder without ever identifying the cause. The risk of getting peripheral neuropathy increases with age.
Incidence and Prevalence
Nearly 60% of all people with diabetes suffer from peripheral neuropathy, and peripheral neuropathy affects at least 20 million people in the United States.
Types of Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy is divided into categories based on the area of the nerve that is damaged. The peripheral nervous system is made up of motor nerves, sensory nerves, and autonomic nerves. Motor nerves are responsible for voluntary movement, while sensory nerves are responsible for sensing temperature, touch, and pain. Autonomic nerves are responsible for functions such as breathing, sexual function, digestion, and blood pressure.
Peripheral neuropathy is also classified through the locations it occurs in the body. Nerve damage in only one area of the body is called mononeuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy that occurs in many areas is called polyneuropathy. When the disorder occurs in the same places on both sides of the body, the condition is called symmetric neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy can also be divided by its specific cause, such as diabetic neuropathy and nutritional neuropathy. The condition is called idiopathic neuropathy when a cause cannot be identified.
Risk Factors and Causes
Peripheral neuropathy could be caused by a variety of factors including disease, nerve compression, entrapment, or laceration, exposure to toxins, or inflammation. In many cases involving people over the age of sixty, no cause can be determined.
Conditions identified as risk factors for peripheral neuropathy include alcoholism, amyloidosis, autoimmune disorders, cancer, Bell’s palsy, Carpal tunnel syndrome, kidney failure, connective tissue disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, diabetes mellitus, infectious disease, liver failure, medications, radiculopathy, and vitamin deficiencies. All these conditions are associated with peripheral neuropathy and may be causally linked.
The neuropathy that affects nerve roots is called radiculopathy. The nerve roots are extensions of spinal nerves that exit the spinal canal through a space between vertebrae, called the neural foramen. Neuropathy may be caused by herniation of the pulpy disc between vertebrae, narrowing of the spinal column (spinal stenosis), degeneration of vertebral bone, or trauma can