Walsh & Hoyt: Acute or Subacute Sensorimotor Neuropathy

In this group of peripheral neuropathies, the clinical syndrome is similar to that of the Guillain-Barre syndrome. Patients develop acute or subacute weakness and numbness of the extremities associated with a variable increase in CSF protein concentration. A mild lymphocytic pleocytosis may also be present. Nerve conduction velocities are characteristically slow in most cases, reflecting the presence of segmental demyelination. The electromyogram usually does not reveal extensive denervation, at least early in the course of the disorder, since axons tend to be spared during the acute process. The pathologic findings in this condition are demyelination of the peripheral nerves and spinal nerve roots, variable degrees of axonal loss, and sparse lymphocytic infiltration in some cases.