An estimated 20 million people in the US have some form of peripheral neuropathy, and more than 100 types of peripheral neuropathies have been identified. (NINDS, 2014) Peripheral neuropathy is damage to peripheral nerves that can cause lack of coordination, weakness, numbness, tingling and pain usually in the hands and feet. Peripheral nerves send sensory information from your central nervous system to the rest of your body, which also helps generate movement. Peripheral neuropathy can be a mild or sever disease leading to disability. Most cases of peripheral neuropathy are caused by a treatable underlying condition. It is rare for peripheral neuropathy to be fatal but it can be extremely painful. Recently a link between peripheral neuropathy and dietary deficiencies has been discovered. The most common form of peripheral neuropathy is nutritional polyneuropathy, which is as a result of malnutrition. Two common conditions associated with nutritional polyneuropathy are dry beriberi and alcoholic neuropathy. Nutritional neuropathy has a direct link to a deficiency Vitamin B12.Vitamin B12 …show more content…
is required for the proper function of the body. Vitamin B12 also is required for proper development of the brain, nervous and many other body functions. A lack of vitamin B12 damages the myelin sheath that surrounds and protects nervous and without this proper protection the nervous system cant function properly. The damage due to Vitamin B12 deficiency can be permanent if the condition is not treated. Dry beriberi is a Thiamine or vitamin B1 deficiency.
Dry beriberi can occur in anyone who is malnourished and can become very severe if not treated. The symptoms include, decreased muscle function, tingling or loss of feeling in hands and feet, pain and paralysis. People at risk are those of alcohol abuse, genetic beriberi traits, kidney dialysis, and those who have had prolonged diarrhea. Dry beriberi is treated with thiamine supplements in the form of a shot or pill. Dry beriberi has a direct link to the lower social economic status. Dry beriberi is more common is areas that are of poverty because of lower access to nutritional foods. In many low poverty areas white rice is a major part of the diet due to its low cost. White rice is not very nutritional which unfortunately leads these people to malnutrition and eventually developing different harmful diseases like dry
beriberi. Alcoholic neuropathy is a neurological disorder which multiple peripheral nervous malfunction throughout the body due to excessive drinking of alcohol. Up to half of long-term heavy alcohol users (alcoholism that is present for 10 years or more) develop this condition. (NINDS, 2014) The exact cause is unknown but is directly related to the alcohol poising the nerve and the effect of poor nutrition that comes along with alcoholism. The symptoms are much of the same of any neuropathy, numbness in the arms and legs, abnormal sensations, pain and muscle problems. Alcoholism can be the main cause of many vitamin deficiencies like, Vitamin B1, B6, B12, vitamin A and many more. This is due to the poising effect that alcohol has on the body. The damage to the body and nerves from alcoholic neuropathy is usually permanent and can’t be undone. A person can take vitamin supplements to help with malnutrition, or medications and may also seek neurological treatment like counseling to stop alcoholism and stop any further damage. Alcoholic neuropathy has a direct link to lower social economic classes. People of lower social economic environments are exposed to more vulnerable triggers for alcoholism. Research suggests that there is a strong connection between alcoholism and poverty. People whom are unemployed, uneducated, have poor housing are more susceptible to alcoholic abuse. Alcoholic neuropathy is just one of the many a number of diseases alcohol abuse can cause. Peripheral neuropathy can be very unfortunate. Luckily only in rare situations can it be deadly. With more than a 100 different types of peripheral neuropathies it can be difficult to diagnose and cure, but with all the research that has been done, it is helpful that we now know the direct link between malnutrition and vitamin deficiency with peripheral neuropathy. Hopefully we will eventually be able to have a cure and someday there will be a treatment available to reverse the effects of this unfortunate disorder. Until then we need to continue support and knowledge to those being affected.
Peripheral and central mechanisms involving nerve lesions and their input are substantial when perceiving phantom pain. Due to the impairment of peripheral nerves in the process of amputation, regenerative sprouting of damaged axons occurs and the activity rate of inflamed C-fibres and demyelinated A-fibres spontaneously increases (Flor, 2002). As a consequence of this nerve injury, a neuroma, which is a mass of pruned and tangled axons, may form in the residual limb producing abnormal (ectopic) activity (Katz, 1992). Flor, Nikolajsen and Jenson (2006) proposed that ectopic discharge from a neuroma in the stump illustrates abnormal afferent input to the spinal cord, which is a possible mechanism for unpro...
Treatment options and their success rates vary widely, and proponents of the cause are demanding more recognition, research, and success. The study of Arnold-Chiari malformations can lead to additional questions and new understandings about the I-function, sensory-motor input/output paths and the general make-up of the brain and nervous system, but a complete understanding of the disorder may be a long time coming. Impairment and sometimes loss of motor control of the body and its extremities is one of the many effects of this disorder. Patients may complain of headaches, neck pain, coughing, sneezing, dizziness, vertigo, disequilibrium, muscle weakness, balance problems, and loss of fine motor control (1). The senses (hearing, sight, smell, etc.).
Yang, Zhirong., Yuan, Zhang., Chen, Ru., Huang, Y., Ji, L., Sun, F., Hong, T., Zhan, S. (2014). Sample Tests to Screen for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy. The Cochrane Library: DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010975. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010975/abstract
Wunderlich, R. P., Peters, E. J., Bosma, J., & Armstrong, D. G. (1998). Pathophysiology and treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy of the lower extremity. Southern Medical Journal, 91, 894-898.
... damaged neurons. (Mayo clinic, 2014). This is called neuroplasticity, the ability for the nerves to compensate for damage caused by some outside force. Because of neuroplasticity physical training works to cure some of the paralysis left by the virus and allows us to walk again after the legs or another appendage is deformed or damaged.
Nurse’s play a very important role in the delivery of care to an older person and in complex disease such as Parkinson’s disease, the care provided by a nurse is vital for both the patient and the family of the affected person. The aim of this essay is to understand briefly about Parkinson’s disease and associated issues and the role of the nurse in the management of the condition.
insurance coverage is important and can be obtained through government sources, employer benefit programs, or private providers.)
With motor neurone disease it attacks the nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting. In the case study the
Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a genetic disorder of the nervous system. This can cause tumors to form on the nerves anywhere in the body at any time. Neurofibromatosis affects all races, all ethnic groups and both sexes equally. NF if one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States. NF has three genetically distinct forms are NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis.
When a person begins to suffer from Guillain- Barre Syndrome their myelin sheath of their nervous system is being attacked and destroyed by the immune system (NINDS, 2011). The myelin sheath begins to lose its ability to transmit signals rapidly and affectively. Since signals are not getting transmitted to the brain fast enough, a person begins to notice fewer sensory responses from the rest of the body (NINDS, 2011). A person wouldn’t be able to tell right away or at all if an item they are touching is hot, cold, or causing pain. There also wouldn’t be good signal transmission from the brain to the rest of the body (NINDS, 2011). There would be signs of the muscles being unable to respond to the weakened or distraught signals they were receiving. Since the myelin sheath is responsible for transmitting the signals from a long distance, the upper and lower extremities would be the first to show signs of muscle dysfunction.
The most common type is Peripheral Neuropathy. It is also referred to as distal symmetric neuropathy or sensorimotor neuropathy. In this type, the legs, feet, toes, arms, and hands experience pain and loss of sensation. Typically, the lower extremities are involved before the upper extremities and a loss of reflexes is common. It is with this type of neuropathy that ulcers, wounds, infections, and in severe cases, amputation is most common (Dyck, Feldmen, & Vinick).
The sciatic nerve supplies information about movements of the leg and sends information about sensations back to the brain. The sciatic nerve is quite large, in fact, it is the largest peripheral nerve in the body. The sciatic nerve is formed from the lower segments of the spinal cord; it is made up of the lumbar and sacral nerve roots from the spine. The nerves are compressed, and people then experience the symptoms of pain, weakness, and numbness.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in the United States and often responsible for anemia and neurologic symptoms, particularly in the elderly.
The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The brain and the spinal cord serves as the collection section of the nerve impulses. With damage to the peripheral nervous system the central nervous wouldn’t be able to interpret the stimuli’s because they wouldn’t be able to receive them. This system is considered to be ...
The patient has experienced fever, chills on body, headaches and anorexia as well as sweating especially during the night. The patient has also been feeling fatigued, muscle aches and nausea as well as vomiting especially after eating (WHO, 2010, p. 117). These symptoms started forty eight hours ago, and the patient has not taken any medication except for some aspirin.