CAUSES AND DIAGNOSIS OF SENSORY NEUROPATHIES - A REVIEW

Sensory neuropathies are rare but unique peripheral neuropathies that involve only the peripheral sensory system. The diagnosis is made by b oth clinical and electrophysiological findings. Sensory neuropathies o ccur predominantly in women. The symptoms begin in the arms more often than the legs and occur asymmetrically. Pain and severe sensory ataxi a in varying degrees are the main presenting symptoms. Definable cause s of sensory neuropathies are hereditary, paraneoplastic, immunologica l, metabolic, infectious, and drug-induced disorders. In our experienc e, however, nearly half of all sensory neuropathies have been idiopath ic. The clinical course of these sensory neuropathies is variable. The symptoms clearly worsened in 25% of our patients, but in the rest rem ained unchanged for many years, resulting in a poor functional prognos is because of intractable pain and ataxia. Most sensory neuropathies a re resistant to any treatment. We review the electrophysiological feat ures, laboratory findings, and nerve biopsy results in our patients an d discuss in detail the potential underlying diseases included in the differential diagnosis.