CONDUCTION BLOCK IN IMMUNOGENIC POLYNEURO PATHIES

Peripheral neuropathies can be a result of immunogenic organospecific disorders. This group of polyneuropathies should be considered in diff erential diagnosis because the clinical course is often progredient an d - on the other hand effective treatment is available. Demyelination is a typical feature of immunogenic polyneuropathies. Nerve lesions ar e often persistent and outside of entrapment regions. Neurophysiologic ally persistent conduction block or temporal dispersion are seen. Thes e alterations of stimulus conduction are found in proximal nerve segme nts. Therefore, conduction block might not be seen in routine investig ations which only include distal nerve segments. With the new techniqu e of high voltage nerve stimulation proximal segments as well as motor roots can be stimulated transcutaneously. This technique allows for t he noninvasive investigation of proximal nerve segments.