Neuritis

Neuritis
Sciatic Nerve in acute polyneuritis (top) and Ulnar nerve in polyneuritis leprosa (bottom)
SpecialtyNeurology
SymptomsPain, paresthesia, paresis, anesthesia, paralysis
CausesAutoimmune disease, infection, physical injury, paraneoplastic syndrome
Diagnostic methodPhysical exam, electrodiagnostic studies, MRI, nerve biopsy
MedicationCorticosteroids, 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.

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Neuritis" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 428–9.
  2. ^ "neuritis" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  3. ^ Pau D, Al Zubidi N, Yalamanchili S, Plant GT, Lee AG (July 2011). "Optic neuritis". Eye. 25 (7): 833–42. doi:10.1038/eye.2011.81. PMC 3178158. PMID 21527960.
  4. ^ Chowdhury D, Arora A (May 2001). "Axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome: a critical review". Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 103 (5): 267–77. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0404.2001.103005267.x. PMID 11328201. S2CID 26420981.
  5. ^ Oaklander AL, Lunn MP, Hughes RA, van Schaik IN, Frost C, Chalk CH (January 2017). Hughes RA (ed.). "Treatments for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP): an overview of systematic reviews". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (1). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: CD010369. doi:10.1002/14651858.cd010369. PMC 5468847. PMID 28084646.
  6. ^ "CHAPTER 88: INFLAMMATORY AND INFECTIOUS POLYNEUROPATHY". Neurological disorders : course and treatment. Brandt, Thomas, 1943- (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Academic Press. 2003. ISBN 978-0-12-125831-3. OCLC 162571014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "CHAPTER 89: Noninflammatory Polyneuropathy". Neurological disorders : course and treatment. Brandt, Thomas, 1943- (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Academic Press. 2003. ISBN 978-0-12-125831-3. OCLC 162571014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ Martini R, Willison H (April 2016). "Neuroinflammation in the peripheral nerve: Cause, modulator, or bystander in peripheral neuropathies?". Glia. 64 (4): 475–86. doi:10.1002/glia.22899. PMC 4832258. PMID 26250643.
  9. ^ Baloh RW (14 August 2018). Sciatica and chronic pain : past, present and future. Cham, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-319-93904-9. OCLC 1048610895.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health (Seventh ed.). 2003.
  11. ^ Al Khalili Y, Jain S, DeCastro A (2020). Brachial Neuritis. StatPearls Publishing. PMID 29763017. Retrieved 2020-05-11. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)