Inflammatory polyneuropathy
Polyneuropathy is a whole group of diseases that are associated with disruption of the peripheral nerves, usually the nerves of the lower and upper extremities. Such nerve disorders quite often occur with some concomitant diseases, for example, diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney and liver diseases, moreover, also with serious poisoning with various toxins or with chronic alcoholism. In particular, even a lack of certain vitamins (namely B1 or B12) can lead to this disease.
Depending on the factors that caused the development of the disease, polyneuropathies occur in different ways. So, with diabetes mellitus, first of all, the smallest blood vessels that supply the nerves with nutrients suffer, and with various poisoning with toxins, serious harm is caused to the sheaths of the nerves themselves. In practice, both disorders are usually combined.
There are several different classifications of polyneuropathies, depending on the type and nature of the disease. The most common is the classification of the disease by the nature of its origin. According to him, polyneuropathies are divided into six types: autoimmune, inflammatory, toxic, hereditary, metabolic and polyneuropathies associated with external physical factors.
Inflammatory polyneuropathies can also be roughly divided into four important subspecies: diphtheria, leprosy, Lyme borreliosis, and HIV-associated.
Diphtheria polyneuropathy
A distinctive feature of this disease is the rather early (already on the third or fourth day of illness) the appearance of symptoms of impaired functioning of the nervous system in the processes of chewing, swallowing and speech. In diphtheria polyneuropathy, the oculomotor nerve is affected, which leads to a disorder of the movement of the eyeballs, and also significantly reduces the sensitivity to light.
After 1-2 weeks, numbness of the distal extremities is added to these symptoms, more often these sensations occur in the legs than in the hands. The clinical picture is complemented by the general manifestations of the strongest intoxication of the body. The disease is diagnosed with the help of certain epidemic data and on the basis of modern research of the pharyngeal mucosa.
Leprosy polyneuropathy
Lepra is an infectious disease, the causative agent of which is an acid-resistant (so-called leprosy) bacillus. The disease strongly affects the peripheral nerves, skin and noticeably disrupts the functioning of receptors. Leprosy polyneuropathy is a rather rare type of disorder of the peripheral nervous system, in which the nerve trunks are directly affected by a special pathogen.
This dangerous disease is manifested by various disorders of pain and temperature sensitivity in the area of skin lesions with leprosy, as well as in the areas of the peroneal and ulnar nerves. There is a rather painful increase in the size of individual nerves (usually in thickness).
Also, the disease is characterized by various vegetative-trophic disorders, such as increased hair loss and flaking of the skin, brittle nails of the hands and feet. Hyperpigmentation, excessive sweating, or, conversely, abnormally low sweating appears. In some cases, there are flaccid paralysis of the muscles responsible for facial expressions, especially the upper part of it. The course of the disease, as a rule, is progressive and often ends with gross violations of motor functions.
Lyme borreliosis polyneuropathy
This type of polyneuropathy is often a specific neurological complication of Lyme disease. Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is a dangerous infectious disease that occurs under the influence of a specific pathogen that is carried by common ixodid ticks.
Patients with Lyme borreliosis polyneuropathy complain of severe headaches, significant hearing impairment and general fatigue. With this disease, numbness and very painful sensations in the lower and upper extremities are observed, and the latter suffer much more. When diagnosing a disease, one should pay attention to a clear increase in the titer of special antibodies in the blood.
HIV-associated polyneuropathy
The disease in most cases manifests itself as a distal symmetrical weakness in the lower extremities. The very first symptoms of the disease are not too strong, but persistent pain in the legs and sensations of numbness. Quite often, with this type of polyneuropathy, a disorder of the Achilles reflexes is observed, there is a decrease in sensitivity to pain, vibration sensitivity, and in rare cases, temperature sensitivity.
All of the above signs often appear in conjunction with other symptoms of HIV infection. The disease gradually progresses over time.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
