Diseases of the peripheral nerves

Case History—A 34 yr old man presenting with jaundice, lymphadenopathy, sensory symptoms and muscular weakness. Disorders of peripheral nerve function can be categorized in terms of the site of the primary disturbance. (1) Neuronopathies—conditions that lead to death of the neuron cell body and axon. (2) Axonal neuropathies—conditions that affect axons which may be focal, as in local injury, multifocal, as in vasculitis, or diffuse as in metabolic or toxic disorders often cause selective degeneration of the axons towards the cell bodies (‘dying-back’); (3) Demyelinating neuropathies—conditions in which the myelin sheaths are supporting Schwann cells damaged and the axons are relatively preserved. Combinations of axonal and demyelinating pathology are common. (4) Interstitial neuropathies—conditions in which there is infiltration of the endoneurium for instance by granuloma or amyloid....