POLYNEUROPATHY

hereditary / degenerative:

progressive hypertrophic polyneuritis

hereditary sensorimotor neuropathies (peroneal muscular atrophy, etc.)

acute intermittent porphyria and other porphyrias

hereditary pressure-sensitive neuropathy

Refsum's disease

Tangier disease

Fabry's disease

Friedreich's ataxia

Riley Day disease (III) and other hereditary sensory neuropathies (I, II, IV)

ataxia-telangiectasia

olivopontocerebellar atrophy

mitochondrial encephalopathy (various forms)

infantile neuraxonal dystrophy

Niemann-Pick disease

Hallervorden-Spatz disease

Bassen-Kornzveig syndrome

Canavan's disease

Krabbe's disease

Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease

giant axonal neuropathy

metachromatic leukodystrophy

adrenoleukodystrophy

'neuropathy of old age'

vitamin deficiencies:

B1 (thiamine)

B2 (riboflavin)

niacin (nicotinic acid)

B6 (pyridoxine)

B12

pantothenic acid

E

folate

generalised malnutrition

malabsorption syndrome

toxic:

lead

alcohol

heroin

cocaine

mercury

acrylamide

sodium cyanate

N-hexane (glue-sniffing)

ethylene oxide (used for sterilisation)

hexachlorophene

carbon disulphide (cellophane film)

carbon tetrachloride

aniline dyes

triorthocresyl phosphate (TOCP) ('Jake leg paralysis') and other organophosphate insecticides

arsenic

thallium

methyl bromide (fire extinguishers)

dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (herbicide)

tick paralysis

cyanide (eg. cassava plant)

drugs:

chloroquine

phenytoin

vinca alkaloids

cis-platinum

hydralazine

thalidomide

amitryptiline

clioquinone

emetine

butazolidine

N2O (long-term)

isoniazid

ethionamide

dapsone

gold

pyridoxine

amiodarone

nitrofurantoin

metronidazole

glutethimide

disulfiram

associated with infection:

following influenza, measles, HIV, polio, typhoid

diphtheria (exotoxin)

leprosy

tick paralysis

'dysimmune':

Guillain-Barre syndrome

paraproteinemia

chronic (relapsing) inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy (chronic GBS)

vasculitis:

polyarteritis nodosa and Churg-Strauss syndrome

rheumatoid arthritis

systemic lupus erythematosus

giant cell arteritis

hypersensitivity angiitis

systemic sclerosis

Sjogren's disease

Wegener's granulomatosis

relapsing polychondritis

essential polycythaemia

cryoglobulinaemia

'isolated' peripheral nerve vasculitis

metabolic:

diabetes mellitus

hypothyroidism

acromegaly

renal failure

hepatic failure

amyloidosis

sarcoidosis

recurrent hypoglycaemia

malignant disease (paraneoplastic syndrome or compression/infiltration):

bronchial and other carcinoma

lymphoma

leukaemia

multiple myeloma

other tumours

other:

chronic and extensive peripheral vascular disease

idiopathic (up to 30%)

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