Peripheral Neuropathy News and Research

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Peripheral neuropathy describes damage to the peripheral nervous system, which transmits information from the brain and spinal cord to every other part of the body.

More than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy have been identified, each with its own characteristic set of symptoms, pattern of development, and prognosis. Impaired function and symptoms depend on the type of nerves -- motor, sensory, or autonomic -- that are damaged. Some people may experience temporary numbness, tingling, and pricking sensations, sensitivity to touch, or muscle weakness. Others may suffer more extreme symptoms, including burning pain (especially at night), muscle wasting, paralysis, or organ or gland dysfunction. Peripheral neuropathy may be either inherited or acquired. Causes of acquired peripheral neuropathy include physical injury (trauma) to a nerve, tumors, toxins, autoimmune responses, nutritional deficiencies, alcoholism, and vascular and metabolic disorders. Acquired peripheral neuropathies are caused by systemic disease, trauma from external agents, or infections or autoimmune disorders affecting nerve tissue. Inherited forms of peripheral neuropathy are caused by inborn mistakes in the genetic code or by new genetic mutations.

Cancer-related fatigue contributes to balance problems following exposure to chemotherapy for breast cancer

For many women who have undergone chemotherapy for breast cancer, cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a persistent side effect – and one that contributes to ongoing balance problems, suggests a paper in Rehabilitation Oncology, official journal of APTA Oncology, an academy of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

15 Aug 2022

Study reveals the benefits of using thalidomide in patients with severe arteriovenous malformations

The same properties that caused birth defects when it was given to pregnant women, the inhibition of blood vessel formation (anti-angiogenesis), have led to an interest in thalidomide's therapeutic utility in other fields.

10 Jun 2022

Height increases risk of certain diseases

In a recent study published in the Journal PLoS Genetics, researchers investigated how height determined several common clinical traits in adults by comparing associations of those traits with actual- and genetically-predicted-height.

5 Jun 2022

Genetically predicted height linked to risk for several common health conditions

A large genetic study by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' Million Veteran Program (MVP)) has found that a person's height may affect their risk for several common health conditions in adulthood.

2 Jun 2022

Exploring vitamin D and acute COVID-19 infection

Researchers assessed the presence of vitamin D deficiency in COVID-19-recovered patients

6 May 2022

The involvement of the skeletal muscles in long COVID-19

Researchers reviewed the mechanisms of muscle tissue injury, aggravating conditions, and associated sequelae in long COVID‐19.

18 Apr 2022

SARS-CoV-2 virus may have lingering effects on peripheral nerves

Adding to a growing body of evidence that, for many, problems related to COVID-19 linger longer than the initial infection, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that some people infected during the pandemic's early months experienced peripheral neuropathy - pain, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet - during and following their bouts with the virus.

25 Mar 2022

‘Injections, injections, injections’: Troubling questions follow closure of sprawling pain clinic chain

On May 13 of last year, the cellphones of thousands of California residents undergoing treatment for chronic pain lit up with a terse text message: "Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lags Medical Centers will be closing effective May 19, 2021."

22 Feb 2022

Understanding SARS-CoV-2-induced systemic amyloidosis

A new study proposed that inflammation combined with aggregates of amyloidogenic peptides of SARS-CoV-2 S proteins might induce systemic amyloidosis.

21 Dec 2021

Frequent cognitive impairments after 4-month follow-up in ICU COVID-19 patients

Results from a recent observational study published in the Journal Of The Neurological Sciences found that after a 4-month follow-up, ICU patients with severe COVID-19 illness were more likely to have mild cognitive impairment with features related to a diffuse encephalopathy than patients with mild infection who do not need a ventilator. Additionally, ICU patients experienced more significant impairment in executive function. All neurological deficits involve the peripheral nervous system.

14 Dec 2021

New SBIR award helps Temple scientists to explore the therapeutic potential of novel cannabis analog

More than 20 percent of adults in the United States live with chronic pain. For many affected individuals, long-term physical discomfort negatively impacts overall well-being, leading to reduced work output and increased anxiety and depression.

29 Sep 2021

Researchers identify genetic program in fruit fly that protects neurons from degeneration

Researchers at the University of Bonn have identified a previously unknown genetic program in the fruit fly. The genetic material involved controls the development of the neurons while also protecting them from degeneration.

13 Aug 2021

Research shows how loss of de-N-glycosylation enzyme causes detrimental effects

Peptide: N-glycanase (NGLY1) is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme for removing N-linked glycans (N-glycans) from glycoproteins and is involved in proteostasis of N-glycoproteins in the cytosol. In 2012, a rare genetic disorder called NGLY1 deficiency was discovered by an exome analysis.

7 Jul 2021

Normalizing cholesterol metabolism in microglia alleviates chronic neuropathic pain

Chemotherapy can induce a painful peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a chronic condition and common adverse effect for cancer patients undergoing treatment.

10 May 2021

Novel CBD analog alleviates pain in mouse model of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

For patients with chronic pain, ineffective treatments, lowered work productivity, and other factors often coalesce, fueling feelings of hopelessness and anxiety and setting the stage for even bigger problems, including substance use disorders.

5 May 2021

FDA approves immunotherapy for first-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opdivo (nivolumab), in combination with certain types of chemotherapy, for the initial treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

16 Apr 2021

UTHSC professor awarded $1.79 million grant to develop new amyloidosis treatment

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recently awarded Jonathan Wall, PhD, professor in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville, a $1.79 million grant for his study titled "Developing a Theranostic Immunotherapy for Systemic Amyloidosis."

16 Mar 2021

An increase in the risk of clinical sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new piece of research, published on the medRxiv preprint server, focused on the role of factors such as gender, age, hospitalization, etc., in understanding the risks of clinical sequelae in the post-acute phase of COVID-19, in adults aged between 18 and 65 years.

15 Mar 2021

Discovery may help cancer patients to avoid chemotherapy's debilitating side effects

A discovery by University of Queensland pain researchers may allow some future cancer patients, including children with leukemia, to avoid their chemotherapy's worst and most debilitating side effects.