Neurology · General Medicine

Peripheral Neuropathy

Also known as Peripheral neuropathy · Polyneuropathy · Diabetic neuropathy · Sensorimotor neuropathy · Mononeuritis multiplex

Peripheral neuropathy is any disorder of the peripheral nerves; clinically the term usually denotes polyneuropathy — a diffuse, usually symmetric process. The commonest pattern worldwide is a distal symmetric (length-dependent), sensorimotor, axonal polyneuropathy producing numbness, tingling and burning pain in a glove-and-stocking distribution, with loss of ankle reflexes. The commonest cause is diabetes mellitus (diabetic peripheral neuropathy, DPN); other leading causes are alcohol, vitamin B12 deficiency, drugs (chemotherapy, vincristine, isoniazid, metronidazole, amiodarone, phenytoin), uraemia, hereditary (Charcot-Marie-Tooth), vasculitic and CIDP. Diagnosis combines the clinical pattern, blood tests (HbA1c, B12, TSH, U&E, SPEP) and nerve conduction studies distinguishing axonal from demyelinating injury. Management is treat the underlying cause plus neuropathic pain relief (gabapentinoids, duloxetine, TCAs — not opioids) and meticulous foot care to prevent ulceration and amputation.

High yieldHigh evidenceUpdated 26 July 202619 min readVerification in progress

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Red flags

  • Acute or rapidly progressive weakness with neuropathy — GBS or vasculitic; urgent neurology
  • Asymmetric, painful, stepwise neuropathy — mononeuritis multiplex (vasculitis); urgent biopsy and immunosuppression
  • Progressive numbness in a glove-and-stocking distribution — screen for diabetes; check HbA1c and B12
  • Painless plantar ulcer or warm swollen deformed foot (Charcot) in a neuropathic foot — urgent podiatry; risk of amputation
  • Burning foot pain with orthostatic hypotension, gastroparesis or erectile dysfunction — diabetic autonomic neuropathy

Meet the patient

A 62-year-old with 15 years of type 2 diabetes describes two years of tingling in both feet, worse at night, now creeping up his shins. He burnt his toes in the bath without feeling it, and last month he stumbled on a step he could not feel. His ankle jerks are absent and he cannot feel a 10-gram monofilament at four sites on each foot.[1]

Two questions frame every neuropathy viva, and they are the two this whole page exists to answer. What is the pattern? — because pattern predicts the cause: distal symmetric points to diabetes, asymmetric stepwise points to vasculitis, acute ascending points to Guillain-Barre. Is there a treatable cause I am missing? — B12, hypothyroidism, a paraprotein, CIDP. The third, never far behind, is are the feet safe?[3]

What neuropathy is — and the rule that decides every stem

Pattern predicts cause. That single sentence is the discipline of the topic. Before any test, classify the neuropathy along four axes — distribution, modality, pathology and course — and the differential narrows to a short, treatable list.[3]

A peripheral nerve carries three fibre populations, and which one dies decides the symptom. Large myelinated fibres carry vibration, joint position and the reflex arc — their loss gives numbness, sensory ataxia, a positive Romberg and areflexia. Small fibres (A-delta and C) carry pain and temperature and run the autonomic end-organs — their loss gives burning pain, painless injury and autonomic failure. Motor axons give weakness, wasting and fasciculations. Most polyneuropathies are mixed; naming the predominant fibre points the work-up.[1]

The central red flag is acute, asymmetric or motor-predominant neuropathy. That triad points away from the common metabolic causes and towards Guillain-Barre syndrome, CIDP or vasculitic mononeuritis multiplex — all neurological emergencies. The chronic, symmetric, sensorimotor, distal neuropathy of a diabetic is the commonest case and the default the page is built around.[3]

The four axes — distribution, modality, pathology, course

The single most important fork is mononeuropathy (one nerve, usually compressed) versus polyneuropathy (diffuse and symmetric, usually systemic). Everything below refines the polyneuropathy.[3]

Mononeuropathy

  • One nerve damaged — compression, entrapment or trauma
  • Prototypes: carpal tunnel (median), ulnar at the elbow, common peroneal at the fibular head (foot drop), radial (Saturday-night palsy), lateral femoral cutaneous (meralgia paraesthetica)
  • Bell palsy is a mononeuropathy of CN VII — see below

Mononeuritis multiplex

  • Scattered, ASYNCHRONOUS nerve deficits accumulating in a stepwise, painful fashion
  • Vasculitis until proven otherwise (PAN, rheumatoid, ANCA-associated); diabetes and leprosy also do this
  • Emergency — sural nerve biopsy and immunosuppression

Polyneuropathy

  • Diffuse, SYMMETRIC, usually distal and length-dependent — the default meaning of 'peripheral neuropathy'
  • Subdivided by modality (sensory, motor, autonomic, mixed) and pathology (axonal, demyelinating)
  • Commonest pattern worldwide; diabetes is the commonest cause
[1]
FigureCommonest causesdiabetes (commonest worldwide), alcohol, B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, drugs (chemotherapy: vincristine, taxanes, platinum; metronidazole, amiodarone, phenytoin; isoniazid), hereditary (Charcot-Marie-Tooth), renal failure, vasculitic, CIDP. Clinical pattern guides the diagnosisdistal symmetric (metabolic/toxic/genetic); asymmetric or multifocal (vasculitis, mononeuritis multiplex, CIDP); acute (GBS, toxic); pure sensory (paraneoplastic, B12); autonomic prominent (diabetic, amyloid). Nerve conduction: axonal (diabetes, alcohol) vs demyelinating (CIDP, GBS, CMT type 1).

By pathology — the electrophysiological split that drives the differential, and the single most useful step after the history. Axonal neuropathies (the commonest — diabetes, alcohol, B12, toxic) show reduced CMAP and SNAP amplitudes with near-normal conduction velocity. Demyelinating neuropathies (GBS, CIDP, CMT type 1, anti-MAG) show markedly slowed velocity under 35 m/s, prolonged distal latency, conduction block and temporal dispersion.[1]

By course — acute (days to four weeks: GBS, acute toxic), subacute (weeks to months: vasculitis, B12, paraneoplastic), chronic (years: diabetes, CMT, CIDP). The CIDP threshold is progression over more than eight weeks, which is how it parts company with GBS.[1]

How common, and who

Peripheral neuropathy affects 2 to 8 percent of the general population, rising to about 50 percent of people with diabetes after two decades of disease. The leading identifiable causes in primary care are, in order, diabetes, alcohol, B12 deficiency, drug toxicity (especially chemotherapy), chronic kidney disease and hereditary neuropathies. Charcot-Marie-Tooth, the commonest inherited neuromuscular disorder, affects about 1 in 2500. Even after a thorough work-up, 20 to 30 percent remain cryptogenic.[1]

Peripheral neuropathy — the numbers you own before the viva

2 to 8 percentPopulation prevalencerises with age
~50 percentDiabetics after 2 decadesDPN is nearly universal in long-standing disease
1 in 2500Charcot-Marie-Toothcommonest inherited neuromuscular disorder
20 to 30 percentRemain cryptogenicchronic idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy
60 percentDPN cut by tight control (type 1)DCCT; effect weaker in type 2
1 mm/dayAxon regrowthroughly 1 inch per month — recovery over months to years
[1]

Risk factors for diabetic peripheral neuropathy are duration, high HbA1c, older age, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, smoking, alcohol excess, and a low BMI in type 1. In type 1 the DCCT showed intensive control cuts incident neuropathy by about 60 percent; in type 2 glucose-lowering alone is modest, and multifactorial cardiovascular risk reduction carries the weight.[2]

Why nerves fail — axonal versus demyelinating

Distinguishing axonal from demyelinating on nerve conduction is the single most useful step after the history, because it partitions the differential into treatable immune disease versus metabolic or toxic disease.[2][3]

Axonal neuropathy is the commonest pathology. The primary injury is to the axon itself; the cell body can no longer sustain the long distal process, so it undergoes distal 'dying-back' degeneration and, once transected, Wallerian degeneration. The longest axons fail first — hence length dependence (the axon to the big toe travels a metre and has the greatest metabolic demand). Nerve conduction shows low amplitudes with preserved velocity.[2]

Demyelinating neuropathy targets myelin or the Schwann cell by immune (GBS, CIDP), dysimmune (anti-MAG) or genetic (CMT1 — PMP22 duplication) mechanisms. Stripped myelin causes conduction block, slowing and temporal dispersion, with weakness out of proportion to axon loss. Velocity falls below 35 m/s, and Schwann cells can remyelinate — which is why the immune forms respond dramatically to immunotherapy.[1]

FigureTwo mechanisms, one pattern. LEFT — axonal injury: myelin intact but the axon frays and undergoes Wallerian degeneration distal to the lesion (low amplitude on nerve conduction). RIGHT — demyelinating injury: axon intact but segmental myelin loss with conduction block (slow velocity). Below, a length-dependent 'dying-back' body silhouette: the longest nerves fail first, shading the hands and feet (glove-and-stocking) and spreading proximally. The lower panels show the diabetic triad driving axonal injury — the polyol (sorbitol) pathway, oxidative stress and microvascular ischaemia of endoneurial capillaries.

The diabetic mechanism is multifactorial — worth a viva sentence of its own. Chronic hyperglycaemia drives the polyol pathway: glucose is converted by aldose reductase to sorbitol and fructose, depleting NADPH and myo-inositol and lowering Na/K-ATPase activity. Hyperglycaemia also generates mitochondrial oxidative stress, forms advanced glycation end-products that crosslink nerve and vascular proteins, and causes microvascular ischaemia from thickened endoneurial capillaries. Together these produce the length-dependent, predominantly axonal neuropathy of diabetes.[2]

The other mechanisms worth naming. Alcohol injures nerve through direct chronic neurotoxicity compounded by thiamine deficiency, and vitamin B12 deficiency is the other leading deficiency cause. Among drugs, the chemotherapies cisplatin, paclitaxel and vincristine, amiodarone and the HIV reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (stavudine, zalcitabine) are the classic toxic causes; isoniazid causes a sensory neuropathy driven by pyridoxine (B6) depletion, which is why tuberculosis treatment pairs it with pyridoxine.[24][7][23]

[1]

Meet the neuropathy at the bedside

The symptoms follow the fibre injured. A careful sensory, motor and autonomic history, with attention to tempo and distribution, usually predicts both pathology and cause before any test.[1][3]

Sensory — positive symptoms are tingling, pins-and-needles, burning, stabbing, electric-shock or tight-band pain and allodynia (pain from bedsheets), typically glove-and-stocking and worse at night ('burning feet'). Sensory — negative symptoms are numbness and loss of feeling; large-fibre loss (vibration, proprioception) causes sensory ataxia and a positive Romberg, while small-fibre loss (pain, temperature) allows painless injuries, burns and ulcers — the patient who cannot feel the pebble in the shoe.[1]

Motor signs begin distally: weakness of ankle dorsiflexion (foot drop, tripping), intrinsic foot and hand muscles, then grip; wasting, fasciculations, clawed toes. Reflexes are lost early distally — ankle jerks go first, then knee jerks, then the arms. In hereditary CMT, chronic distal wasting gives inverted champagne-bottle ('stork leg') legs and pes cavus with hammer toes from childhood.[1]

Autonomic symptoms are prominent in diabetic and amyloid neuropathy: orthostatic hypotension (systolic drop of 20 mmHg or more), resting tachycardia, gastroparesis (early satiety, vomiting, erratic glucose), diabetic diarrhoea (often nocturnal), urinary retention, erectile dysfunction, and gustatory sweating on eating cheese or chocolate. Severe autonomic neuropathy carries a poor prognosis.[1]

The neuropathic foot is the most disabling sequel. Painless plantar ulcers appear under the metatarsal heads where repetitive unperceived pressure breaks down insensate skin. Charcot neuroarthropathy presents as a warm, swollen, erythematous, deformed foot with a rocker-bottom shape — easily mistaken for cellulitis, and an emergency for offloading. The neuropathy-ischaemia-infection triad is the classic pathway to amputation.[2]

The differential — DANG THERAPIST and four discriminators

A structured differential uses the DANG THERAPIST frame (reproduced in full at the end of the page). The four conditions below are the high-yield discriminators every viva turns on.[3]

Diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy

  • Commonest cause; slowly progressive, symmetric, distal sensorimotor with autonomic features
  • Length-dependent (glove-and-stocking); absent ankle reflexes; loss of protective sensation on 10-g monofilament
  • Nerve conduction: AXONAL (low amplitude, near-normal velocity)
  • Management: glycaemic control, foot care, duloxetine or pregabalin for pain

Vitamin B12 deficiency

  • Neuropathy PLUS dorsal-column signs (subacute combined degeneration): loss of vibration and proprioception, positive Romberg, spasticity
  • Macrocytic anaemia (raised MCV); risk factors — vegan diet, pernicious anaemia, metformin, gastrectomy
  • Partly REVERSIBLE with intramuscular hydroxocobalamin if treated early
  • Check serum B12 plus methylmalonic acid or homocysteine if borderline

Vasculitic mononeuritis multiplex

  • ASYMMETRIC, painful, STEPWISE accumulation of individual nerve deficits (foot drop then wrist drop)
  • Systemic features — weight loss, purpura, renal; PAN, rheumatoid, ANCA-associated
  • Nerve conduction: axonal, asymmetric; EMERGENCY — sural nerve biopsy confirms vasculitis
  • Treat with high-dose corticosteroids plus cyclophosphamide or rituximab

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT1)

  • INHERITED; onset in childhood or young adulthood; autosomal dominant family history
  • Pes cavus, hammer toes, inverted champagne-bottle legs; slowly progressive over decades
  • Nerve conduction: UNIFORMLY slow velocity (PMP22 duplication on chromosome 17p11.2)
  • No cure — supportive: physiotherapy, ankle-foot orthosis for foot drop
[3]

The classic trap: painful feet with normal nerve conduction are not 'no neuropathy' — they are small-fibre neuropathy, which routine NCS do not test. Confirm with punch skin biopsy measuring intra-epidermal nerve fibre density. Missing this dismisses a real, treatable symptom.[3]

The focused examination

The examination has one job: define the pattern and fibre type, which directs the diagnosis. Answer four questions — is the neuropathy distal symmetric, asymmetric or multifocal, acute motor, or pure sensory or autonomic?[3]

Large-fibre testing128-Hz tuning-fork vibration at the hallux, proprioception (toe up or down), and the 10-g Semmes-Weinstein monofilament at six foot sites per foot (hallux dorsum, the 1st, 3rd and 5th metatarsal heads, plus the heel). Inability to feel the monofilament means loss of protective sensation and predicts ulceration — the single most useful bedside test in diabetes.[1]

Small-fibre testing — pinprick and temperature distally; small-fibre neuropathy may spare reflexes and vibration, so a normal large-fibre exam does not exclude it. Motor and reflex — ankle then knee reflexes (ankle lost earliest), distal power, wasting, fasciculations, foot deformity. Gait and Romberg — sensory ataxia gives a wide-based, high-stepping gait; a positive Romberg signals proprioceptive loss.[1]

Orthostatic blood pressure — measure lying and standing for three minutes; a systolic drop of 20 mmHg or more (or diastolic 10 mmHg) within three minutes indicates autonomic failure. Inspect the neuropathic foot for callus, ulcers, deformity, Charcot changes (rocker-bottom, warmth, swelling) and palpate the pulses — a warm swollen deformed foot is acute Charcot until proven otherwise.[1]

Investigations — pattern first, then bloods, then nerve conduction

Investigation is targeted by the clinical pattern — there is no 'screen everything' panel. The goals are to confirm the neuropathy is peripheral, distinguish axonal from demyelinating, and find a treatable cause.[1][3]

First-line bloods — fasting glucose and HbA1c, vitamin B12 (plus methylmalonic acid or homocysteine if borderline, since these rise early and confirm tissue deficiency), full blood count (MCV for macrocytosis pointing to B12 or alcohol), U&E and creatinine, LFTs, TSH, folate and thiamine (if alcohol or malnutrition), and lipids.[1]

Second-line tests (when the pattern is atypical or first-line is unrevealing) — serum protein electrophoresis with immunofixation and anti-MAG antibody (paraproteinaemic neuropathy), ANA, ANCA, rheumatoid factor, complement and cryoglobulins (vasculitis), HIV, hepatitis B and C, serum copper and caeruloplasmin, serum lead, ACE (sarcoid), anti-GQ1b and anti-GM1 antibodies (GBS or multifocal motor neuropathy), and genetic testing for CMT (PMP22 duplication or deletion first, then MPZ, GJB1, MFN2 by phenotype). CSF showing cytoalbuminologic dissociation — high protein, normal cell count — points to GBS or CIDP.[1]

Nerve conduction studies with needle EMG are the key diagnostic test. They distinguish axonal from demyelinating injury and define distribution and severity.[1]

ParameterAxonal neuropathyDemyelinating neuropathy
CMAP/SNAP amplitudeReduced (axons lost)Relatively preserved (until late)
Conduction velocityNear-normal (may be mildly reduced)Markedly slowed — often under 35 m/s
Distal latencyNormal or mildly prolongedProlonged
F-wave latencyMildly prolongedMarkedly prolonged or absent
Conduction block / temporal dispersionAbsentPresent (hallmark)
Needle EMGFibrillations, positive sharp waves; large polyphasic units on reinnervationDenervation only if secondary axonal loss
Typical causesDiabetes, alcohol, B12, toxic, uraemicGBS, CIDP, CMT1, anti-MAG, diphtheria
[1]

Small-fibre testing — when symptoms suggest small-fibre neuropathy but routine NCS are normal: punch skin biopsy measuring intra-epidermal nerve fibre density (reduced below the age- and sex-adjusted fifth percentile confirms the diagnosis), quantitative sensory testing, sudomotor tests and corneal confocal microscopy. Sural nerve biopsy is reserved for suspected vasculitis or amyloid, where histology changes management.[3]

Treat the cause, the pain, the feet

FigureTreat the cause — glycaemic control in diabetes, B12 replacement, alcohol cessation, stop the offending drug, immunosuppression for vasculitis and CIDP. Neuropathic pain — first-line by class: a gabapentinoid (gabapentin or pregabalin), the serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine, or a tricyclic such as amitriptyline; avoid opioids. Foot care — daily inspection, well-fitting shoes, podiatry, offloading for ulcers. Autonomic — nonpharmacologic measures first, then midodrine, droxidopa or fludrocortisone for orthostatic hypotension.

Definitive management has five strands: treat the cause, control neuropathic pain, protect the feet, manage autonomic symptoms, and provide multidisciplinary support.[1][2]

1. Treat the underlying cause — the only disease-modifying step for most. Tight glycaemic control slows diabetic neuropathy — the DCCT found intensive therapy reduced the occurrence of clinical neuropathy by 60 percent in insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes. Vitamin B12 deficiency is treated with B12 supplementation by the high-dose oral or parenteral route. Alcohol cessation and thiamine repletion address the neurotoxicity of chronic alcohol use. Withdraw the offending drug — vincristine, cisplatin, paclitaxel and amiodarone are the classic offenders, and isoniazid neuropathy reflects pyridoxine depletion, managed with pyridoxine. For CIDP, first-line treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin, corticosteroids or plasma exchange.[8][21][24][7][23][18]

2. Neuropathic pain — first-line by class, never opioids. The evidence-based first-line classes are the alpha-2-delta calcium channel ligands (gabapentin, pregabalin), the serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (duloxetine, venlafaxine) and the tricyclics (amitriptyline, nortriptyline); combination therapy may add benefit when a single agent is insufficient. Pregabalin was studied at 150, 300 and 600 mg daily, with benefit in painful diabetic neuropathy. Gabapentin trials used 1200 mg daily or more — at 1200 mg daily about 38 percent of patients with painful diabetic neuropathy achieved at least a 50 percent reduction in pain — and benefit is demonstrated at 1800 to 3600 mg daily. Duloxetine at 60 mg once daily is effective for painful diabetic neuropathy: 60 mg and 120 mg daily are the efficacious doses, and lower daily doses are not. Amitriptyline remains a guideline first-line tricyclic, though unbiased trial evidence for it is thin.[7][9][10][11][12]

3. Foot care — prevents amputation. Daily foot inspection (use a mirror for the sole), well-fitting cushioned footwear, regular podiatry, callus debridement, moisturise dry skin (not between the toes), never walk barefoot, avoid hot water bottles, cut nails straight across, and early offloading of any ulcer with a total-contact cast or knee-high boot. Structured foot-care education is the cornerstone.[1]

4. Autonomic management. Orthostatic hypotensionnonpharmacologic treatment is always the first step (withdraw aggravating drugs, fluids, compression); a considerable number of patients still need drug therapy. Patients with low sympathetic reserve respond better to the norepinephrine replacers midodrine and droxidopa, while fludrocortisone is a nonspecific alternative — and supine hypertension, postprandial hypotension, heart failure and diabetes all shape the choice. Autonomic symptoms such as orthostatic hypotension are themselves recognised features of diabetic neuropathy and warrant symptom-targeted management.[22][7]

5. Multidisciplinary support — physiotherapy (strengthening, gait re-education, an ankle-foot orthosis for foot drop), occupational therapy, dietetics, the pain team, orthotics, podiatry and structured diabetes education.[1]

The subtypes that bite

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the commonest form worldwide — distal symmetric, mixed sensorimotor with autonomic features, predominantly axonal. A painful small-fibre variant (burning feet, normal reflexes and normal NCS) is increasingly recognised and may precede large-fibre loss. Diabetic amyotrophy is a distinct, asymmetric, painful proximal thigh weakness with weight loss in type 2 diabetes, usually monophasic. Screen type 2 diabetes at diagnosis and type 1 from five years after, then annually (10-g monofilament, vibration, ankle reflexes).[1]

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) has its own topic; in brief, it is the most common and most severe acute paralytic neuropathy, and the severe generalised manifestation with respiratory failure affects 20 to 30 percent of cases. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin or plasma exchange, alongside supportive care, is the optimal management approach: IVIg is as effective as plasma exchange and more likely to be completed, plasma exchange hastens recovery, and corticosteroids alone are ineffective — so monitor respiratory and autonomic function closely.[16][17]

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an immune-mediated neuropathy typically characterised by symmetric involvement with proximal as well as distal muscle weakness (typical CIDP), with atypical subtypes such as multifocal acquired demyelinating sensory and motor neuropathy (Lewis-Sumner syndrome) and distal acquired demyelinating symmetric neuropathy. Diagnosis rests on clinical symptoms plus nerve conduction studies showing demyelination, supported by other criteria, and early treatment matters because delay risks irreversible axonal damage. Intravenous immunoglobulin, corticosteroids and plasma exchange are the first-line treatments; subcutaneous as well as intravenous immunoglobulin works as maintenance therapy.[4][18]

Vitamin B12 deficiency neuropathy is one of the leading deficiency causes of polyneuropathy. B12 is central to DNA synthesis and methylation, so deficiency damages nervous tissue; confirm with serum B12 plus its metabolites — methylmalonic acid with or without homocysteine — which rise with tissue deficiency, alongside blood glucose and serum protein electrophoresis in the initial panel. Deficiency arises from inadequate intake (vegan diet), inadequate bioavailability or malabsorption (pernicious anaemia). Treat with B12 supplementation — the high-dose oral and parenteral routes are both effective — and treat early, because complete reversal of nerve damage is uncommon.[21][7]

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common dose-limiting toxicity — roughly 30 to 40 percent of patients treated with neurotoxic chemotherapy develop it, usually sensory-predominant, with pain and long-term morbidity in survivors. The classic agents are platinum compounds (cisplatin), taxanes (paclitaxel), vincristine and thalidomide; vinca alkaloids and thalidomide cause an axonal, length-dependent sensory polyneuropathy that usually resolves soon after the drug is stopped. For established painful CIPN, duloxetine 30 mg daily for one week then 60 mg daily is the regimen that reduced pain in a randomised placebo-controlled trial.[14][7][15][13]

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is the commonest inherited neuropathy. CMT1 is demyelinating from PMP22 duplication on chromosome 17p11.2 (autosomal dominant), with uniformly slow conduction from childhood, palpable nerve hypertrophy, pes cavus, hammer toes, stork legs and a family history. CMT2 is axonal; CMTX (GJB1) is X-linked and intermediate. Management is supportive only.[5]

Vasculitic neuropathy / mononeuritis multiplex results from inflammation of the nerves' vascular supply causing ischaemic injury — from systemic vasculitis (polyarteritis nodosa, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, microscopic polyangiitis), rheumatological disease (rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome), paraneoplastic, infectious and drug-induced causes, or nonsystemic vasculitic neuropathy confined to the peripheral nerves. It presents with acute or subacute painful sensory and motor deficits in the classic mononeuritis multiplex pattern; overlapping mononeuropathies later merge into a symmetric or asymmetric sensorimotor axonal polyneuropathy. Diagnosis relies on laboratory testing, electrodiagnostic studies and nerve or other tissue biopsy; treat with immunosuppression — corticosteroids plus cyclophosphamide, rituximab, methotrexate or azathioprine — because delays in treatment risk permanent deficits and death.[19]

Bell palsy is an acute, unilateral facial (VII) nerve paresis or paralysis of unknown cause — the most common acute mononeuropathy. The patient cannot voluntarily move the facial muscles on the affected side, and inability to close the eyelid threatens eye injury. Treat with oral corticosteroids within 72 hours of symptom onset for patients aged 16 and over — corticosteroids cut incomplete recovery (about one extra recovery for every 10 treated) and synkinesis. Do not prescribe antivirals alone (they may be offered in addition to steroids), and implement eye protection whenever eye closure is impaired. Reassess or refer if new neurologic findings, ocular symptoms, or incomplete recovery at three months.[20][6]

How neuropathy harms — the preventable list

  • Lower-limb amputation from a preventable plantar ulcer — the neuropathy-ischaemia-infection pathway; most diabetes-related amputations are preceded by a preventable ulcer, and 10-g monofilament loss predicts it.[2]
  • Acute Charcot foot misread as cellulitis or gout and treated with antibiotics instead of offloading — the joint is destroyed while the diagnosis is wrong.
  • A missed treatable cause — B12, hypothyroidism, a paraprotein, CIDP — labelled 'diabetic neuropathy' and left to progress.
  • Opioid dependence prescribed for neuropathic pain, where gabapentinoids, duloxetine or TCAs are the evidence-based answer.
  • GBS missed as 'just numbness' before weakness develops — the window for IVIg is lost.
  • Falls, fractures and burns from sensory ataxia, proprioceptive loss and insensate limbs.[3]

Prognosis, and what reverses

Prognosis depends entirely on cause and pathology. Reversible or partly reversible: B12 deficiency (if treated early), hypothyroidism, some toxic neuropathies, CIDP with immunotherapy. Arrestable (progression halts when the cause goes but the deficit persists): diabetes, alcohol, drug withdrawal. Progressive despite treatment: hereditary CMT and amyloid. Axonal neuropathies recover slowly — nerve regrows at about 1 mm a day — so recovery spans months to years if the cell body is intact. Demyelinating neuropathies (GBS, CIDP) can recover quickly through remyelination and respond to immunotherapy.[1][3]

Special populations

The elderly present with falls or imbalance rather than sensory complaint; multimorbidity and polypharmacy raise both neuropathy risk and treatment harm, so dose-reduce gabapentinoids and TCAs (falls, delirium, hyponatraemia), avoid opioids, and screen for reversible causes. In diabetes, annual foot screening (10-g monofilament, vibration, ankle reflexes) is mandatory from diagnosis in type 2 and from five years after in type 1. In pregnancy, gabapentinoids are generally avoided; carpal tunnel of pregnancy usually resolves postpartum. In renal impairment, uraemic neuropathy is partly reversible with transplantation — dose-reduce renally cleared drugs. In chemotherapy patients, baseline nerve conduction for high-risk regimens and cold avoidance for oxaliplatin. In HIV, antiretroviral toxic neuropathy and HIV-distal sensory polyneuropathy are common; distinguish from CMV polyradiculopathy.[1]

Evidence and regional deltas

Screening — the ADA recommends screening all patients with type 2 diabetes at diagnosis and type 1 from five years after, then annually, with a 10-g monofilament with or without vibration; NICE NG19 offers a similar annual foot risk review.[1]

Neuropathic painNICE NG193 offers amitriptyline, duloxetine, gabapentin or pregabalin first-line (chosen by comorbidity and cost), combining on partial response and avoiding opioids; the ADA specifically recommends duloxetine or pregabalin for DPN pain; the AAN lists pregabalin (Level A), duloxetine, amitriptyline, gabapentin and venlafaxine.[2]

CIDPcorticosteroids, IVIg and plasma exchange are all effective (ICE, PREDICT and Immune trials); IVIg is often first-line for motor-predominant disease, and steroids are contraindicated in multifocal motor neuropathy.[4]

Bell palsy — the Cochrane review confirms early oral corticosteroids increase good outcomes (NNT about 10) and reduce synkinesis; antivirals should not be prescribed alone.[6]

UK

NICE NG193 offers amitriptyline, duloxetine, gabapentin or pregabalin first-line for neuropathic pain and advises against initiating opioids; NICE NG19 covers diabetic foot prevention. Gabapentinoids are a Class C controlled drug in the UK since 2019 over misuse concerns, prompting a relative preference for duloxetine as first-line for DPN pain in some trusts.

[1]

US

The ADA Standards of Care recommend duloxetine, pregabalin or gabapentin for DPN pain; the AAN lists pregabalin (Level A) and others. Oxycodone is not recommended. The ADA mandates an annual comprehensive foot exam for all people with diabetes.

[1]

ANZ

Australian Therapeutic Guidelines and the RACGP align with NICE and ADA — gabapentinoids, duloxetine and TCAs first-line, opioids avoided. Gabapentinoid prescribing has been tightened over misuse and diversion. For DPN pain, duloxetine or pregabalin are preferred first-line.

[1]

The mnemonic, and the mantra

Causes of peripheral neuropathy — DANG THERAPIST

DANG THERAPIST

  • DDiabetescommonest cause worldwide; distal symmetric sensorimotor; painful small-fibre variant
  • AAlcoholpainful small-fibre; with thiamine deficiency; give thiamine before glucose
  • NNutritionalB12 (subacute combined degeneration), thiamine, folate; post-bariatric
  • GGeneticCharcot-Marie-Tooth — pes cavus, stork legs, uniform slowing, PMP22 duplication
  • TToxic and drugschemotherapy (platinum, taxanes, vincristine, bortezomib), metronidazole, amiodarone, phenytoin, isoniazid, heavy metals
  • EEndocrinehypothyroidism; acromegaly
  • RRenaluraemic neuropathy — partly reversible with transplant
  • AAmyloid and paraproteinanti-MAG, MGUS, familial amyloid polyneuropathy
  • PPressure and Pyridoxinecompression mononeuropathies (CTS, ulnar, peroneal); pyridoxine (B6) EXCESS causes sensory neuropathy
  • IInfectiousleprosy (commonest worldwide in tropics — thickened nerves), HIV, Lyme, diphtheria
  • SSystemic and vasculiticmononeuritis multiplex — asymmetric and stepwise; sarcoid
  • TTrauma and compressionmononeuropathies — CTS, peroneal palsy, radial (Saturday-night) palsy
[3]

The mantra: pattern predicts cause — distal symmetric is metabolic, asymmetric is vasculitic, acute ascending is GBS; on nerve conduction axonal means low amplitude, demyelinating means slow; treat the cause, treat the pain (not with opioids), protect the feet.[1]

[1]

Ward-round test — three stems, thirty seconds each

Stem 1 — burning feet in diabetes (answer)Show

A 60-year-old with type 2 diabetes of 12 years has bilateral burning feet, worse at night, and cannot feel a 10-g monofilament at four sites on each foot. Reflexes are absent at the ankle. What is the diagnosis, the next test, and the first drug for the pain? Model: This is diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy — the classic length-dependent, symmetric, sensory-predominant pattern with autonomic features. Confirm with HbA1c and nerve conduction studies; the recommended initial panel adds serum B12 with methylmalonic acid and serum protein electrophoresis. For the pain start a first-line agent by class — duloxetine 60 mg once daily (the efficacious dose in painful diabetic neuropathy), or a gabapentinoid or a tricyclic — not an opioid. Counsel on foot care and arrange annual screening.[7][11]

Stem 2 — foot drop then wrist drop (answer)Show

A 55-year-old presents with a painful right foot drop over a week, then two weeks later a painful left wrist drop, with weight loss and purpura. What is the pattern, what is the cause until proven otherwise, and what is the test? Model: The pattern is mononeuritis multiplex — asymmetric, painful, stepwise accumulation of individual nerve deficits. The cause is vasculitis until proven otherwise (polyarteritis nodosa, ANCA-associated, rheumatoid, cryoglobulinaemia). The test is an urgent sural nerve biopsy with a contralateral muscle biopsy, then high-dose corticosteroids plus cyclophosphamide or rituximab — untreated, it progresses to irreversible axonal loss within days.[3]

Stem 3 — numbness with a positive Romberg and macrocytosis (answer)Show

A 65-year-old vegan on metformin has six months of numbness in the feet, a positive Romberg, loss of vibration at the hallux, brisk knee jerks and extensor plantars, and an MCV of 108 fL. What single diagnosis ties this together, and what is the treatment? Model: This is vitamin B12 deficiency neuropathy — the vegan diet points to inadequate intake, one of the three mechanisms of deficiency (inadequate intake, inadequate bioavailability, malabsorption). Confirm with serum B12 plus methylmalonic acid (with or without homocysteine), and treat with B12 supplementation — the high-dose oral and parenteral routes are both effective — promptly, because complete reversal of nerve damage is uncommon.[21][7]

References24Show
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  2. [2]Sloan G, Selvarajah D, Tesfaye S. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical management of diabetic sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy Nat Rev Endocrinol, 2021.PMID 34050323
  3. [3]Watson JC, Dyck PJB. Peripheral Neuropathy: A Practical Approach to Diagnosis and Symptom Management Mayo Clin Proc, 2015.PMID 26141332
  4. [4]Lehmann HC, Burke D, Kuwabara S, et al. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: update on diagnosis, immunopathogenesis and treatment J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 2019.PMID 30992333
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  6. [6]Madhok VB, Gagyor I, Daly F, et al. Corticosteroids for Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis) Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2016.PMID 27428352
  7. [7]Mauermann ML, Staff NP. Peripheral Neuropathy: A Review JAMA, 2026.PMID 41247746
  8. [8]Nathan DM, Genuth S, Lachin J, et al. The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus N Engl J Med, 1993.PMID 8366922
  9. [9]Derry S, Bell RF, Straube S, et al. Pregabalin for neuropathic pain in adults Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2019.PMID 30673120
  10. [10]Wiffen PJ, Derry S, Bell RF, et al. Gabapentin for chronic neuropathic pain in adults Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2017.PMID 28597471
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  19. [19]Pacut P, Gwathmey KG. Top 10 Clinical Pearls in Vasculitic Neuropathies Semin Neurol, 2025.PMID 39348853
  20. [20]Baugh RF, Basura GJ, Ishii LE, et al. Clinical practice guideline: Bell's palsy Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 2013.PMID 24189771
  21. [21]Green R, Allen LH, Bjørke-Monsen AL, et al. Vitamin B(12) deficiency Nat Rev Dis Primers, 2017.PMID 28660890
  22. [22]Park JW, Okamoto LE, Shibao CA, Biaggioni I. Pharmacologic treatment of orthostatic hypotension Auton Neurosci, 2020.PMID 32979782
  23. [23]He K, et al. Common Adverse Reactions and Management Strategies of First-Line Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs Infect Drug Resist, 2026.PMID 41939271
  24. [24]Huang J, Ahmed IM, Wang T, Xie C. Beyond the Liver: Neurologic Manifestations of Alcohol Use Clin Liver Dis, 2024.PMID 39362715
Peripheral Neuropathy · NeetVellum