A Simple Start To Your Neuropathy Research

Today's post from bizpr.ca (see link below) is useful press-release for those meeting neuropathy for the first time. It gives a simple (though not comprehensive) guide to what's going on with your nerves when neuropathy symptoms appear. Not a bad start but you may wish to explore the disease further and do more of your own research. Nevertheless, we all have to start somewhere and if your doctor's explanation has left you more confused than where you started, this article is a handy guide.

Neuropathy – Key Points, Symptoms, and Conditions to be Lead
July 16, 2016

Neuropathy is a nerve issue typically relating to the peripheral nerves. It can be caused by a variety of underlying medical conditions. In some cases, it can occur with seemingly no cause, termed “idiopathic” neuropathy.

Some key points to note about neuropathy:
People with diabetes are more susceptible to neuropathy. In fact, a part of diabetes care includes regular testing for neuropathy.
There are three types of nerves that can be affected: motor nerves, autonomic nerves, and sensory nerves.
In addition to diabetes, the following can all lead to neuropathy: physical trauma, infection, repeated injuries, metabolic complications, drugs, and metabolic problems can all lead to neuropathy.
In cases where the neuropathy is caused from a toxin, removing exposure to the toxin can prevent the condition from progressing and causing further nerve damage.
The type of symptoms experienced with neuropathy can also vary greatly, depending on the type of nerves that are being affected:
Motor nerves – These types of nerves control power and movement. This type of neuropathy typically causes weakness in the hands, the feet, or both.
Autonomic nerves – These nerves control various systems of the body, including the bladder and gut. This type of neuropathy typically causes changes in the heart rate, sweating, and blood pressure.
Sensory nerves – These nerves are the ones in charge of sensations in and on the body. This neuropathy can cause sensations of tingling, numbness, weakness, or even pain in the hands and feet.
There are various conditions that can lead to neuropathy. While roughly 30% of neuropathy conditions are from unknown causes, the rest are typically attributed to:
Diabetes– This is the most common cause of neuropathy. The reason being is that high blood-sugar damages nerves, so poorly controlled diabetes tends to damage the nerves.
Chronic liver disease
Connective tissue diseases – Rheumatoid arthritis and several other diseases that affect connective tissues can cause neuropathy.
Cancers – Some cancers can lead to neuropathy, such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma.
Vitamin deficiencies – Deficiencies in vitamins folate and B-12.
Toxins – Things such as insecticides or various solvents.
Drugs – Chemotherapy and HIV medication can cause damage to the peripheral nerves.
Excess alcohol consumption – Repeated high levels of blood alcohol can cause nerve damage.
Certain inflammatory issues – Examples include coeliac disease and sarcoidosis.
Chronic kidney disease – The kidneys are responsible for balancing various chemicals in the body, including salt. Imbalances due to the kidneys not functioning properly can lead to peripheral neuropathy.

Diagnosis of neuropathy typically includes questions pertaining to the specific symptoms, general health and medical conditions, family history, medications, alcohol consumption, and the sexual history of the patient. Next is an examination, nerve conduction studies, electromyography, and a skin or nerve biopsy.

Read more at: http://acueastwest.com/neuropathy/

http://www.bizpr.ca/2016/07/16/neuropathy-key-points-symptoms-conditions-lead/

What Is Neuropathy Keep It Simple

Today's post from livescience.com (see link below) is a new and very easy to follow summary of what neuropathy is. Useful for people new to the disease, or for friends and family who want to know more but it's only a start. From this point on, depending on the cause, severity and proposed treatment of the symptoms, people may feel the need to look further into this mysterious and complex condition. This blog has over 1000 posts (see alphabetical list to the right) but Googling neuropathy will result in all the information you may need and probably lots that you don't! Starting with this short article is a good first step.

What Is Neuropathy? 
By Joseph Castro, Live Science Contributor | March 27, 2014

Peripheral neuropathy (often referred to simply as "neuropathy") refers to any condition that damages or disrupts nerves in the peripheral nervous system.

The peripheral nervous system is the network of nerves that connects the central nervous system, which consists of the brain and spinal cord, to the rest of the body.

There are three types of nerves in the peripheral nervous system: motor nerves, which regulate the movements of muscles under your conscious control; autonomous nerves, which regulate bodily functions outside your control; and sensory nerves, which carry messages from the sensory organs to the brain.

Experts have identified more than 100 types of peripheral neuropathies, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The exact symptoms of the different neuropathies depend on the nerves affected.

People with a neuropathy affecting motor nerves usually experience muscle pain. They may also suffer from cramps, muscle twitching, muscle and bone loss, and changes in the skin, hair and nails.

Symptoms associated with autonomic neuropathy are diverse, and depend on the organs or glands affected. For example, if the nerves of the sweat glands are damaged, a person may lose the ability to sweat normally. Damage to other autonomic nerves can result in diarrhea, constipation, loss of bladder control, abnormal blood pressure and heart rate, and dizziness or fainting when rising to a standing position.

Sensory-nerve neuropathies can result in various complex symptoms, such as general numbness, loss of coordination and reflexes, burning sensations, heightened pain sensations or the inability to feel pain.

There are many ways that neuropathies develop. Certain neuropathies are inherited, such as those associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a type of hereditary neurological disorder.

More often, however, neuropathies are acquired from physical trauma, toxins, cancer medications, alcoholism, vitamin deficiencies, autoimmune disorders and metabolic disorders, including diabetes.

Although there are no treatments for inherited neuropathies, acquired neuropathies may sometimes be treated by addressing the underlying cause — for instance, by correcting nutritional deficiencies, undergoing physical therapy or giving up alcohol.

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http://www.livescience.com/44441-what-is-neuropathy.html

The Simple Pleasures of the Pine Family January Newsletter

~ Pine Family Treasures ~

SIMPLE TEST CAN HELP DETECT ALZHEIMERS BEFORE DEMENTIA SIGNS SHOW

York University researchers say a simple test that combines thinking and movement can help to detect heightened risk for developing Alzheimer's disease in a person, even before there are any telltale behavioural signs of dementia

Faculty of Health Professor Lauren Sergio and PhD candidate Kara Hawkins who led the study asked the participants to complete four increasingly demanding visual-spatial and cognitive-motor tasks, on dual screen laptop computers. The test aimed at detecting the tendency for Alzheimer's in those who were having cognitive difficulty even though they were not showing outward signs of the disease.

"We included a task which involved moving a computer mouse in the opposite direction of a visual target on the screen, requiring the person's brain to think before and during their hand movements," says Sergio in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science. "This is where we found the most pronounced difference between those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and family history group and the two control groups."

Hawkins adds, "We know that really well-learned, stereotyped motor behaviours are preserved until very late in Alzheimer's disease." These include routine movements, such as walking. The disruption in communication will be evident when movements require the person to think about what it is they are trying to do.

For the test, the participants were divided into three groups -- those diagnosed with MCI or had a family history of Alzheimer's disease, and two control groups, young adults and older adults, without a family history of the disease.

The study, Visuomotor Impairments in Older Adults at Increased Alzheimer's Disease Risk, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, found that 81.8 per cent of the participants that had a family history of Alzheimer's disease and those with MCI displayed difficulties on the most cognitively demanding visual motor task.

"The brain's ability to take in visual and sensory information and transform that into physical movements requires communication between the parietal area at the back of the brain and the frontal regions," explains Sergio. "The impairments observed in the participants at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease may reflect inherent brain alteration or early neuropathology, which is disrupting reciprocal brain communication between hippocampal, parietal and frontal brain regions."

"In terms of being able to categorize the low Alzheimer's disease risk and the high Alzheimer's disease risk, we were able to do that quite well using these kinematic measures," says Hawkins. "This group had slower reaction time and movement time, as well as less accuracy and precision in their movements."

Hawkins says the findings don't predict who will develop Alzheimer's disease, but they do show there is something different in the brains of most of the participants diagnosed with MCI or who had a family history of the disease.