Neuritis | |
---|---|
Sciatic Nerve in acute polyneuritis (top) and Ulnar nerve in polyneuritis leprosa (bottom) | |
Specialty | Neurology |
Symptoms | Pain, paresthesia, paresis, anesthesia, paralysis |
Causes | Autoimmune disease, infection, physical injury, paraneoplastic syndrome |
Diagnostic method | Physical exam, electrodiagnostic studies, MRI, nerve biopsy |
Medication | Corticosteroids, Plasmapharesis, IVIG, Gabapentin, Amitriptyline |
Neuritis (/njʊəˈraɪtɪs/), from the Greek νεῦρον),[1] is inflammation of a nerve[2] or the general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system. Inflammation, and frequently concomitant demyelination,[3][4][5] cause impaired transmission of neural signals and leads to aberrant nerve function. Neuritis is often conflated with neuropathy, a broad term describing any disease process which affects the peripheral nervous system. However, neuropathies may be due to either inflammatory[6] or non-inflammatory causes,[7] and the term encompasses any form of damage, degeneration, or dysfunction, while neuritis refers specifically to the inflammatory process.
As inflammation is a common reaction to biological insult, many conditions may present with features of neuritis. Common causes include autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis; infection, either bacterial, such as leprosy, or viral, such as varicella zoster; post-infectious immune reactions, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome; or a response to physical injury, as frequently seen in sciatica.[8][9]
While any nerve in the body may undergo inflammation,[10] specific etiologies may preferentially affect specific nerves.[11] The nature of symptoms depends on the specific nerves involved, neuritis in a sensory nerve may cause pain, paresthesia (pins-and-needles), hypoesthesia (numbness), and anesthesia, and neuritis in a motor nerve may cause paresis (weakness), fasiculation, paralysis, or muscle wasting.
Treatment of neuritis centers around removing or managing any inciting cause of inflammation, followed by supportive care and anti-inflammatory or immune modulatory treatments as well as symptomatic management.
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