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Infectious Neuropathies

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Acquired Neuromuscular Disorders

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Abstract

Infectious diseases frequently affect the peripheral nervous system by direct infiltration or indirect inflammatory response induced by the microorganisms. Peripheral neuropathies are commonly observed in the course of HIV infection and represent the major neurological complication of the disease. The heterogeneous spectrum makes the diagnosis challenging even for the expert neurologist and includes distal symmetric neuropathies, demyelinating neuropathies, mononeuritis multiplex, progressive polyradiculopathies, and diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome. Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is one of the most frequently reported extrahepatic complications of HCV chronic infection, occurring in about 10% of HCV-infected patients. PN usually coexists with cryoglobulinemia and may manifest as chronic “length dependent” distal symmetrical sensorimotor or mainly sensory axonal polyneuropathy, “stocking-glove” asymmetric polyneuropathy, subacute mononeuropathy multiplex, or asymmetrical neuropathy involving large or small nerve fibers. Pure motor or demyelinating neuropathies and, rarely, cranial or autonomic neuropathies, have also been reported. Among the rarest causes of infectious neuropathies, leprosy and borreliosis are an important global health concern. The differential diagnosis is often difficult and sometimes, in particular in suspected neuritic form of leprosy, requires nerve biopsy and a detailed neuropathological analysis that can help for personalized therapy. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many cases of patients with peripheral nervous system involvement have been described, in the absence of a direct role of SARS-CoV-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    Sergio Ferrari, Sara Mariotto, Tiziana Cavallaro, Gian Maria Fabrizi & Salvatore Monaco

  2. Policlinico GB Rossi, Verona, Italy

    Sergio Ferrari, Sara Mariotto, Tiziana Cavallaro, Gian Maria Fabrizi & Salvatore Monaco

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  1. Sergio Ferrari
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  2. Sara Mariotto
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  3. Tiziana Cavallaro
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  4. Gian Maria Fabrizi
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  5. Salvatore Monaco
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Correspondence to Sergio Ferrari .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department Neurosciences, Neuromuscular Center, Campus Pietro d’Abano, University of Padova, Padova, Padova, Italy

    Corrado Angelini

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Ferrari, S., Mariotto, S., Cavallaro, T., Fabrizi, G.M., Monaco, S. (2022). Infectious Neuropathies. In: Angelini, C. (eds) Acquired Neuromuscular Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06731-0_19

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