Top Notch Neuropathy Info Resource

Today's post from medlineplus.gov (see link below) is an immensely useful list of resources and links covering almost all aspects of peripheral nerve damage. You could spend weeks ploughing through this lot but a much better idea is to browse through the various lists and select the link that interests you, or applies to your situation. This article compiled by Medline is just the sort of resource many of us are looking for when we try to make sense of what is giving us so much trouble and discomfort. At the same time, compilations like this can put people off because they seem so impersonal and...let's face it...just a list! Don't be discouraged; try a few clicks here and there and see what you find informative or interesting. It could also save you hours of Googling😕!!

Peripheral Nerve Disorders
Also called: Neuritis, Peripheral neuritis, Peripheral neuropathy

On this page

Basics
Summary
Start Here
Symptoms
Diagnosis and Tests
Treatments and Therapies

Learn More
Living With
Related Issues
Specifics
Genetics

See, Play and Learn
Videos and Tutorials

Research
Clinical Trials
Journal Articles

Resources
Reference Desk
Find an Expert

For You
Patient Handouts

Summary

Your peripheral nerves are the ones outside your brain and spinal cord. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral nerve disorders distort or interrupt the messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

There are more than 100 kinds of peripheral nerve disorders. They can affect one nerve or many nerves. Some are the result of other diseases, like diabetic nerve problems. Others, like Guillain-Barre syndrome, happen after a virus infection. Still others are from nerve compression, like carpal tunnel syndrome or thoracic outlet syndrome. In some cases, like complex regional pain syndrome and brachial plexus injuries, the problem begins after an injury. Some people are born with peripheral nerve disorders.

Symptoms often start gradually, and then get worse. They include
Numbness
Pain
Burning or tingling
Muscle weakness
Sensitivity to touch

Treatment aims to treat any underlying problem, reduce pain and control symptoms.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

Peripheral Neuropathy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Peripheral Neuropathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Peripheral Neuropathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary

Symptoms

Peripheral Neuropathy: Symptoms and Signs (Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy)

Diagnosis and Tests

Evaluation and Tests (Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy)
Specialized Nerve Tests: EMG, NCV and SSEP (North American Spine Society)

Treatments and Therapies

Anti-Seizure Medications: Relief from Nerve Pain (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Anticonvulsant Drugs for Nerve Pain, Bipolar Disorder and Fibromyalgia (Consumers Union of U.S.) - PDF Also in Spanish
Nerve Blocks (Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology) Also in Spanish

Living With

Quality of Life Scale: A Measure of Function for People with Pain (American Chronic Pain Association) - PDF

Related Issues

Hypothyroidism: Can It Cause Peripheral Neuropathy? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects: Nerve Changes (National Cancer Institute) - PDF Also in Spanish
Neuropathic Pain (American Chronic Pain Association)
Peripheral Neuropathy and Agent Orange (Department of Veterans Affairs)
Preparing for your Doctor Visit (Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy)

Specifics

Autonomic Neuropathy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Burning Feet (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Cervical Radiculopathy (Pinched Nerve) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - PDF
Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Dysautonomia (Autonomic Dysfunction) (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Giant Axonal Neuropathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Hereditary Neuropathies (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Isaac's Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Paresthesia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Pinched Nerve (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Pinched Nerve (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the Elbow (Cubital Tunnel Syndrome) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - PDF

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: adult polyglucosan body disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Andermann syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: autosomal recessive axonal neuropathy with neuromyotonia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital cataracts, facial dysmorphism, and neuropathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital insensitivity to pain (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: erythromelalgia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: familial dysautonomia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: giant axonal neuropathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type IE (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type II (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type V (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary sensory neuropathy type IA (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hypomyelination and congenital cataract (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: paroxysmal extreme pain disorder (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Refsum disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: small fiber neuropathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: spastic paraplegia type 11 (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: spastic paraplegia type 15 (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: spastic paraplegia type 7 (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: spastic paraplegia type 8 (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Tangier disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: transthyretin amyloidosis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: triple A syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Troyer syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Infantile Refsum Disease (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Videos and Tutorials

Nerve conduction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Peripheral Nerve Injuries (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Peripheral Nervous System Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for sciatica.
Article: Fentanyl for neuropathic pain in adults.
Article: Immunotherapy for IgM anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein paraprotein-associated peripheral neuropathies.
Peripheral Nerve Disorders -- see more articles
Brachial plexus -- see more articles

Reference Desk

What Are the Parts of the Nervous System? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Find an Expert

American Chronic Pain Association
Find a Neurologist (American Academy of Neurology)
Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician (American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

Axillary nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Common peroneal nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Distal median nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Femoral nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Metabolic neuropathies (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Mononeuritis multiplex (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Neuropathy secondary to drugs (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Peripheral neuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Radial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Sensorimotor polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Tibial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Ulnar nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

https://medlineplus.gov/peripheralnervedisorders.html

EMBRYOS RECEIVE PARENT SPECIFIC LAYERS OF INFO

The information that interprets the genetic code in a new embryo differs depending on whether it comes from the father or mother, researchers at San Francisco State University have found.

 

The research, detailed in an article published today in the journal PLOS Genetics, sheds light on the multilayered process of how a sperm and egg pass along information needed for successful reproduction. Though one layer is the DNA code that is transferred, the new study identifies information not encoded by DNA, a so-called "epigenetic" layer of information that helps the cell interpret the genetic code.

Scientists have known these "epigenetic marks," which influence the developmental plan of new embryos, are created by biologically modifying the proteins, called histones, that are responsible for tightly coiling DNA inside cells. But the new study shows how distinctive the marks from a sperm cell are from the information coming from an oocyte, or egg cell.

"We were able to document an array of marks from dad that are different than what is passed over from mom," said Diana Chu, an associate professor of biology at SF State. "This research opens up new avenues for scientists to investigate. What is the role of these different marks? Why are they different?"

Chu and her colleagues at SF State and the Scripps Research Institute examined sperm and embryos of the C. elegans worm to identify which histone marks, which include histone variants and modifications, were unique to sperm and track them during the formation of new sperm cells and new embryos. They found that the number of histone modifications present within sperm is 2.4 times less than the number present within embryos, indicating a widespread erasure of epigenetic marks when new sperm cells are formed. But the erasure is incomplete: Researchers identified one histone variant and six histone modifications -- and there are likely many more -- that are retained in sperm and ultimately passed on to a new embryo, potentially helping it develop properly.

"If the DNA is the book, these variants and modifications are the bookmarks," Chu said. "They can help cells read the book."

The discovery adds another dimension for scientists to explore when studying the complex process of how genetic information is passed on from parents to children. Such research has major health implications, Chu added, as developmental and behavioral disorders that may not manifest themselves until years or even decades into an individual's life can originate in the early stages of embryotic development.

"These various levels of genetic and epigenetic information work in combination," she said. "If you don't understand all of them, you can't understand the complexity how cells divide properly and how they create a human being who can function at many different levels for a long period of time."

Further research will identify additional epigenetic marks that are unique to sperm, as well as study more closely the role and features of a specific histone variant, termed HTAS-1.

"The specification and global reprogramming of histone epigenetic marks during gamete formation and early embryo development in C. elegans" by Mark Samson, Margaret M. Jow, Catherine C.L. Wong, Colin Fitzpatrick, Aaron Aslanian, Israel Saucedo, Rodrigo Estrada, Takashi Ito, Robin Park, John R. Yates III and Diana S. Chu was published in the Oct. 9 edition of PLOS Genetics. The research was funded through several grants from the National Science Foundation.