Publisher's Synopsis
PREVIEW
Neuropathy is a disorder of the nerves -- the body's system for transmitting messages from the body to the spinal cord and brain, and vice versa. Common symptoms include tingling, numbness, weakness, changes in sensation, and pain.
Neuropathy is a form of nerve damage that is estimated to affect more than 20 million Americans. It often accompanies other health problems including diabetes, cancer, shingles, autoimmune disease or injury.
"Neuropathy presents a spectrum of symptoms," says Daniel DiCapua, MD, a Yale Medicine neurologist. Those symptoms may include a burning sensation, shooting pain, numbness or muscle weakness. For some patients, Dr. DiCapua says, the symptoms are just an annoyance. But for others, the effects of neuropathy can be debilitating.
The team at Yale Medicine has both the comprehensive expertise and advanced equipment to diagnose neuropathy successfully. They also provide treatments that both minimize the discomfort and offer the best opportunity to reverse the condition.
Patients with neuropathy experience "misfiring" of the peripheral nerve cells (nerves that carry signals between the brain and other parts of the body). The result can range from pain to complete loss of sensation.
Up to half of patients with diabetes experience some kind of neuropathic pain.
Other health problems associated with neuropathy include shingles, cancer, autoimmune disease, and certain kinds of injury. It is not clear to researchers exactly why nerve damage results from those conditions.
Early signs of neuropathy can include muscle weakness, twitching or cramps, as well as feelings of numbness or loss of sensation, or lightheadedness.
As the condition progresses, patients might also experience imbalance, emotional distress or trouble sleeping.
Some patients complain of losing sensation in their feet or have problems with motor control. Others feel neuropathic pain in their feet, plus legs, back and hands, which can make the simple act of sitting at a desk-or lying in bed-very difficult.
