User:Tizonacampeador/sandbox
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neuritis (/njʊəˈraɪtɪs/) is inflammation of a nerve[1] or the general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system. Inflammation, and frequently concomitant demyelination[2][3][4], cause impaired conduction 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[5] or non-inflammatory etiologies[6], and the term encompasses any form of damage, degeneration, or dysfunction, while neuritis refers specifically to the inflammatory process.
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 |
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 siatica[7][8].
While any nerve in the body may undergo inflammation[9], specific etiologies may preferentially affect specific nerves[10]. 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.