Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Polyneuropathy - sensorimotor
Symptoms
- Decreased feeling in any area of the body
Difficulty swallowing - Difficulty using the arms or hands
- Difficulty using the legs or feet
Difficulty walking - Pain, burning, tingling, or abnormal feeling in any area of the body (called
neuralgia ) - Weakness of the face, arms, or legs, or any area of the body
Symptoms may develop quickly (as in Guillain-Barre syndrome) or slowly over weeks to years. Symptoms usually occur on both sides of the body. Most often, they start at the ends of the toes first.
Signs and tests
An exam may show:
- Decreased feeling (may affect touch, pain, vibration, or position sensation)
- Diminished reflexes (ankle most commonly)
Muscle atrophy - Muscle twitches (
fasciculations ) - Muscle weakness
Paralysis
Tests may include:
Biopsy - Blood tests
- Electrical test of the muscles (
EMG ) - Electrical test of
nerve conduction - X-rays or other imaging tests
Images
Previous Section
Review Date: 02/06/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; and Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of
Neurolosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and
Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided
by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD,
MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
