Polyneuropathy

Polyneuropathy: Introduction

A condition where nerve damage affects several areas such as feet and hands. The nerve damage results from either poor blood supply to the area or abnormal functioning of the nerve, both of which prevent the nerve from receiving proper nutrition. Poly neuropathy can produce a range of symptoms from mild tingling and/or pins and needles to strong pain. It usually starts in the toes and can spread further up the legs as and the hands can be involved as well. Diabetes is the major cause of chronic polyneuropathy (occurs over a long time) but it may also result from old age, certain drugs, AIDS and alcoholism. However, sometimes no cause can be determined. Acute (sudden onset) polyneuropathy may be caused by infection, autoimmune reaction or certain drugs and toxic substances.

Symptoms of Polyneuropathy

• Symptoms start distally and progress proximally - tingling
• Burning
• Prickling sensation in toes and/or fingers
• Numbness in a 'glove and stocking' distribution
• Loss of ankle-jerk reflex
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 9 symptoms of Polyneuropathy

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Polyneuropathy:

• High Cholesterol: Home Testing:
  • Home Cholesterol Tests
  • Home Triglycerides Tests
  • Home Blood Pressure Test Devices
• High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
  • Home Blood Pressure Hypertension Tests
  • Home Blood Pressure Monitors
  • Home Heart Tests
• Heart Health: Home Testing:
  • Heart Rate Monitors
  • Irregular Heartbeat Detection
  • Heart Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Home Blood Pressure Testing
  • Home Cholesterol Testing
• Thyroid: Home Testing:
  • Home Thyroid Function Testing
  • Home TSH Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests
• Diet & Weight Loss: Home Testing:
  • Home Weight Testing
  • Home Body Fat Testing (BMI)
  • Home Body Fat Monitoring
  • Home Fitness Testing
• Adrenal Gland Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Adrenal Function Testing
  • Home Thyroid Function Tests
• Kidney Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Kidney Testing
  • Home Microalbumin Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Urine Protein Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Urinary Tract Infection Test Kits
• Diabetes: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Diabetes Testing
  • Home Blood Glucose Test Kits
  • Home Urine Glucose Tests
  • Home Urine Ketone Tests
  • Home Diabetes HbA1c Tests
  • Home Microalbumin Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Urine Protein Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Kidney Health Tests
  • Home Eye Health Tests
• Nerve Neuropathy: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Diabetes Test Kits
  • Home Blood Glucose Testing Kits
• more tests...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Polyneuropathy

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Polyneuropathy?

• Misdiagnosis of Polyneuropathy
• Hidden causes of Polyneuropathy (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Polyneuropathy: Self Assessment Tools

• Heart Attack -- Self Assessment Tools
• Weight Management -- Self Assessment Tools
• Heart Disease -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Polyneuropathy: Medical Mistakes

• Diabetes -- Health Mistakes
• Hypertension -- Health Mistakes
• Cholesterol -- Health Mistakes
• Obesity -- Health Mistakes
• Metabolic Syndrome -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Polyneuropathy: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Polyneuropathy:

• Diabetes products & offers »
• Dieting & Weight management: products & offers »
• Heart health products & offers »
• High cholesterol
• more product offers...»

Polyneuropathy: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Major Diseases that are commonly Undiagnosed:
  • High Cholesterol -- Undiagnosed
  • Heart Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Depression -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 2 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Hypertension -- Undiagnosed
  • Hemochromatosis -- Undiagnosed
  • Metabolic Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

In-Depth Reports: Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis

Diabetes diagnosis and misdiagnosis (In-Depth Report): Detailed report on diabetes misdiagnoses, rare curable types, and less common diagnostic issues....read full report »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Polyneuropathy

Misdiagnosis and Polyneuropathy

Metabolic syndrome often undiagnosed: Metabolic syndrome, also known as Syndrome X, is an often overlooked medical condition that causes a cluster of chronic symptoms. There are often four...read more »

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something...read more »

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present...read more »

Poorly healing leg rashes a classic sign of chronic disease: Recurring leg rashes, or poorly healing leg rashes, are a classic sign of undiagnosed diabetes, particularly of Type...read more »

Leg cramps at night a classic sign: The symptom of having leg muscle cramps, particularly at night, is a classic sign of undiagnosed diabetes. However, there are also various other causes. See ...read more »

Obesity-related conditions undiagnosed in children: A variety of conditions are associated with obesity (see obesity), but these tend to be undiagnosed more often in child patients than in adults. Some of the overlooked conditions...read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Polyneuropathy

Polyneuropathy: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Nerve Specialists:
  • Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
  • Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurology (Child Brain Specialist)
  • Spinal Cord Injury Medicine
• Diabetes & Endocrinology Specialists:
  • Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
  • Pediatric Endocrinology (Child Hormones)
• Cholesterol Specialists:
  • Clinical Lipidology (Cholesterol/Triglycerides)
• Cardiac (Heart) Specialists:
  • Cardiology (Heart specialists)
  • Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
  • Interventional Cardiology
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Polyneuropathy

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Polyneuropathy:

• Heart Health (Cardiac Care) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Polyneuropathy, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Polyneuropathy: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
  • High Cholesterol -- Rare Types
  • Heart Disease -- Rare Types
  • Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Depression -- Rare Types
  • Type 2 Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Hypertension -- Rare Types
  • Hemochromatosis -- Rare Types
  • Metabolic Syndrome -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Polyneuropathy

Read more about causes of Polyneuropathy.

More information about causes of Polyneuropathy:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Polyneuropathy (2 listings)
• Polyneuropathy as a complication caused by other conditions
• Polyneuropathy as a symptom

Treatments for Polyneuropathy

• Treat underlying cause
• more treatments...»

Read more about treatments for Polyneuropathy

Videos for Polyneuropathy

Patient Surveys for Polyneuropathy

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Polyneuropathy
  Take Survey  View Results

Reseach about Polyneuropathy

Visit our research pages for current research about Polyneuropathy treatments.

Clinical Trials for Polyneuropathy

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Polyneuropathy include:

• Tolerability of Three Local Anesthetic Formulations in Conjunction With NGX-4010 for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Capsaicin Dermal Patch
• An Open-Label Extension Study of NGX-4010 for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain - This study has been terminated (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Capsaicin Dermal Patch
• Escitalopram as a Treatment for Pain in Polyneuropathy - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - escitalopram
• A Study To Evaluate The Effect Of Topiramate On Clinical And Electrophysiological Parameters In Subjects With Diabetic Peripheral Polyneuropathy. - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - topiramate
• Rituximab to Treat Neuropathy With Anti-MAG Antibodies - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Rituximab
• more trials...»

See full list of 48 Clinical Trials for Polyneuropathy

Stories from Users Related to Polyneuropathy

• Long Axonal Polyneuropathy

Related forums and medical stories:

• Nerve Conditions (90)
  • Numbness Right Side Of Body
  • numb thigh, what to do
  • I think I have MS, doc thinks I am having seizures. Help
  • neuropathy
  • trigeminal neuralgia
  • More user stories

User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Polyneuropathy, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.