Assessment of cutaneous innervation by skin biopsies

Skin biopsies that are immunostained to identify nerve fibers provide a new tool for assessing the small caliber nociceptors that terminate in the epi dermis, as well as other cutaneous nerve fibers. Skin biopsies can be perfo rmed in multiple sites and can be repeated over time, so that a spatiotempo ral profile of epidermal innervation can be constructed. This approach may help assess the progression of fiber loss in disease and of regeneration an d re-innervation. with treatment. Curr Opin Neurol 14:655-659. (C) 2001 Lip pincott Williams & Wilkins.