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Sensorimotor polyneuropathy

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment

Definition:

Sensorimotor polyneuropathy is a decrease in movement or sensation (ability to feel something).

Alternative Names:

Polyneuropathy - sensorimotor

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Polyneuropathy means disease of nerves. Sensorimotor polyneuropathy is damage to nerves other than the brain or spinal cord. Such nerve damage is called peripheral neuropathy .

Sensorimotor polyneuropathy is a systemic (body-wide) process that damages nerve cells, nerve fibers (axons), and nerve coverings ( myelin sheath). Damage to the covering of the nerve cell causes nerve signals to slow down. Damage to the nerve fiber or entire nerve cell can make the nerve stop working.

Nerve damage can be caused by inflammation, decreased blood flow, any condition that puts pressure on nerves, and diseases that destroy the glue (connective tissue) that holds cells and tissues together.  

Possible causes of sensorimotor polyneuropathy include:

• Alcoholic neuropathy  
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Chronic inflammatory neuropathy
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Drug-related neuropathy

• Review Date: 4/28/2006
• Reviewed By: Daniel Kantor, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive MS Center, Neuroscience Institute, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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