Neuropathy is ... Pathologies of the nervous system: causes, symptoms, treatment, drugs

Our body is controlled by nervous impulses. These are signals transmitted through thin nerve strings from the brain to each of the systems of the human body, and then making the return journey. In this regard, there is nothing surprising in the fact that diseases of the National Assembly lead to very unpleasant consequences for health.

All the neurological disorders of the physicians were united under the general concept and gave him the name "neuropathy". These are diseases of the NA that arise because of non-inflammatory nerve damage due to trauma or illness.

Classification

Neuropathy is a disease that can affect various parts of the nerve fibers of the body. There is a definite classification of this ailment, the creation of which took into account the type and location of the pathological zone. So, kinds of such health disorders are:

1. Peripheral neuropathy. This is an ailment that can be caused both by mechanical damage and by one or another disease. Affects this pathology of the peripheral nervous system. The zones of its localization are the tips of the toes and hands, as well as the feet and palms.
2. Proximal neuropathy. This pathology is distinguished by the presence of painful symptoms in the buttocks and thighs.
3. Cranial neuropathy. This is one of the varieties of pathology, arising from the dysfunction of one of the twelve pairs of cranial nerves. In turn, cranial neuropathy is divided into auditory and visual. The first variety is spoken with damage to the auditory, and the second - the optic nerve.
4. Autonomous neuropathy. It is spoken about in pathologies of the autonomic nervous system. From this ailment, the function of the bladder and peristalsis of the intestine suffer. Affects the vegetative neuropathy of the digestive system. It has a negative influence on the heart muscle.
5. Local neuropathy. Symptoms of this kind of ailment develop suddenly, and only on one part of the body.
6. Post-traumatic neuropathy. Its cause is the defeat of nerves as a result of compression due to swelling of the tissues, fractures or formations of irregular scars. Most often, pathology affects the sciatic, ulnar, and radial nerves and threatens subsequent muscle atrophy and decreased reflexes.

Post-traumatic neuropathy, in turn, includes tunneling and compression-ischemic types of neuropathy. The first of them appears as a result of squeezing muscles or ligaments. The second (compression-ischemic neuropathy) - vessels and nerves. This happens with a long squatting or if a person falls asleep and was resting in the same position all the time.

Causes of Neuropathy

What causes disorders of the nervous system? The development of pathology contributes to a variety of causes, which are divided into two categories. The first of these is endogenous, and the second is exogenous.

Sometimes the causes of neuropathy lie in the body itself. The pathologies existing in humans lead to the defeat of one or more nerves. Such reasons are called endogenous. These can be diseases of the endocrine type, as well as autoimmune and demyelinating.

In the list of exogenous causes are those that affected the body from the outside. These are trauma, infection and intoxication.

Endogenous causes

Neuropathy can arise because of endocrine pathologies, in the list of which the main place is occupied with diabetes mellitus. This disease can affect both individual nerve endings and nerve trunks as a whole.

Most often, diabetes causes neuropathy of the lower extremities. The onset of this disease begins with a malnutrition of the nerve roots. This dysfunction is a consequence of the lesion of small vessels, which suffer from diabetes in the first place. As a result, the nervous tissue is rapidly destroyed, which leads to disruption of its work. Neuropathy of the lower extremities manifests itself in the form of crawl, heat or cold sensation. In addition to diabetes mellitus, this pathology can be a consequence of the Itenko-Cushing disease, adrenal and thyroid gland diseases.

Another cause of endogenous nature may be demyelinating ailments. This is a group of diseases accompanied by the destruction of the myelin sheath of the neural bundle. In this case, the instantaneous passage of impulses from the brain to one or another organ and vice versa is disturbed. The appearance of such dysfunction is possible with:

• Diffuse and concentric sclerosis;
• Devick's disease;
• Diffuse leukoencephalitis;
• Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

With these diseases, both peripheral and cranial nerves are affected. Most often, the onset of neuropathy provokes multiple sclerosis. This disease, as a rule, affects the facial, trigeminal or oculomotor nerves. In this case, there is a violation of the sensitivity of the face, become limited movement of the eye and there is weakness in the facial muscles.

The cause of neuropathy can also be autoimmune diseases. Most often it is Guillain-Barre syndrome, which causes respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. Pathogenic bacteria and viruses trigger the mechanism of autoimmune reactions, and the body begins to produce cells against its own nerve fibers. As a result, the myelin or cell structures of the neuron are destroyed. And in both cases this leads to the appearance of pathology.

Causes of neuropathy can also be:

• rheumatoid arthritis;
• Scleroderma;
• Sjogren's syndrome;
• Wegener's granulomatosis.

Nervous disorders always arise with excessive consumption of alcohol, as well as its surrogates. As a rule, the symptoms of an illness manifest as a violation of the gait. In this case, peripheral alcoholic neuropathy arises, the cause of which is the symmetrical defeat of the limbs, primarily the lower ones. At the initial stage, this pathology manifests itself by "splashing" the feet during walking. Later, pain and numbness occur in the limbs.

When using alcohol or its surrogates, the cranial nerves are often affected. At later stages of the disease there is auditory, visual or facial neuropathy.

The development of pathology can be triggered by avitaminosis. And different types of neuropathy arise from the lack of vitamins of group B in the body, which are necessary for carrying out metabolic processes in the nerve tissue. In this case, there is a violation of statics and sensitivity, as well as muscle weakness. In addition, the facial, abduction and eye nerves are affected.

Exogenous causes

One of the most common preconditions for the development of neuropathy is traumatic lesion. Thus, with a strong physical effect on the human body, the integrity of the nerve fiber is disturbed. Sometimes an instantaneous impulse is impossible because of the structure of the myelin sheath.

The cause of the pathology may be prolonged compression of the nerve fiber, as well as its pinching. In this case, the disease develops due to a violation of the blood supply to the affected area. Nervous tissue experiences starvation and gradually begins to atrophy. Most often, such a mechanism is observed in those people who, as a result of catastrophes, fell into rubble, for a long time were in motion. After the rescue, they often had sciatic and fibular neuropathy. In the high-risk zone, there were areas of the lower third of the forearm, shin, hands, feet, since in these parts of the body, when squeezing or squeezing, the most significant lack of blood supply occurs.

The pathology of the cranial nerves is often observed with head injuries. Sometimes the ailment causes surgical intervention, as well as the treatment or removal of the tooth.
The emergence of neuropathy is also facilitated by poisoning with medicines, metal salts and organophosphorus compounds. Such substances have a direct neurotoxic effect. Particularly dangerous in this case are:

• mercury;
• arsenic;
• Isoniazid;
• Phosphate derivatives;
• lead.

Different types of neuropathy can occur after the infection. In this case, the mechanism of development of pathology is associated with a toxic effect, which turns directly onto nerve fibers by bacteria and viruses. Often the disease develops after the transferred diphtheria. Malicious wands cause peripheral polyneuropathies, as well as neuropathies of the oculomotor nerves. Call the disease capable of the herpes virus type 3, as well as HIV infection.

Among the causes of neuropathy is hereditary. In this case, pathology is transmitted from generation to generation and emerges on its own. As a rule, sensory and motor neuropathies are inherited.

Signs of pathology

What are the symptoms of neuropathy? Symptoms of the disease are very diverse and are manifested depending on the type of the affected nerve. In addition, the symptoms of neuropathy depend on the type of fibers that make up this nerve. So, with the defeat of motor fibers, motor disorders begin to develop. They are manifested in the form of gait disturbance, weakness in the muscles. With the severe nature of neuropathy, the patient develops paralysis with the development of atrophy of the corresponding muscles.

If a sensor fiber is broken, a person loses sensitivity. He has feelings of crawling, chills, etc.

Signs of facial nerve neuropathy

Symptoms of this type of disease are very diverse and depend on the affected area. The main signs of neuropathy of the facial nerve include:

• Asymmetry of the face;
• Dry mouth and lack of taste;
• Hearing disorder.

The manifestation of the disease begins with a pain syndrome. This causes numbness and tingling in the area of the eye, ear, forehead and cheekbone. Such symptoms last not for long, only 1-2 days, after which neuropathy shows its main signs. At the same time, the patient complains of dry mouth, which is caused by a disorder of the salivary glands.

Symptoms of trigeminal nerve neuropathy

The manifestation of this pathology also largely depends on the affected area. The main symptoms of this type of neuropathy are:

• Facial pain;
• Paralysis, covering the chewing muscles;
• Loss of sensation by the skin of the face.

Signs of neuropathy of the ulnar nerve

In this type of disease, there are also disorders of sensitivity and motor functions. The main symptoms of this pathology are:

• Development of contractures;
• Impossibility to reduce and spread fingers, and also to bend a brush;
• Loss of sensitivity in the fingers and the area of the pinky's elevation.

As with many types of neuropathy, this disease begins with a sensation of numbness, as well as crawling crawling. And only a little later pain is attached to these symptoms, forcing a person to hold his hand in a bent position. After this, the muscles of the hand are atrophied. The patient can not keep the bag, take a kettle in hand, etc. A long-term neuropathy leads to the development of contracture, expressed in a persistent limitation of joint mobility.

Medication Therapy

How to cope with such a disease as neuropathy? Treatment of pathology begins with the elimination of root causes. For example, a course of therapy for infectious diseases, diabetes, avitaminosis, etc. This will significantly improve the patient's condition. In the treatment of neuropathy, antidepressants and opiates, tropical medicines and anticonvulsants are used. The list of prescription drugs is very extensive and depends on the symptoms of the disease.

Very often neuropathy is accompanied by convulsions. They appear, as a rule, in the form of periodic attacks. To eliminate this symptom, anticonvulsant drugs are prescribed. The list of them is quite impressive, but the most widely used are:

• Carbamazepine.
• "Gabintin".
• "Gabagamma".
• Finpepsin.
• Tebantin.

The most commonly prescribed anticonvulsant is Carbamazepine. Analogues of this remedy are also sold in Russian pharmacies. The most effective drug "Carbamazepine" manifests with neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve, preventing the occurrence of painful attacks. Assign it to postherpetic neuralgia, post-traumatic paresthesia and dry spinal cord.

Has the drug "Carbamazepine" analogues: "Actinerval" and "Stazepin", "Septol" and "Apo-Carbamazepine", "Carbapine" and "Storilat", "Tegretol" and "Epial", etc.

Therapeutic physiotherapy

To restore the functions of nerve fibers in the inactive phase of the disease are appointed:

• massage;
• reflexology;
• Electrophoresis;
• hydrotherapy;
• Magnetic therapy.

The course of physiotherapy should be from 7 to 10 procedures.