Useful Websites

[David Hosobuchi]

Use this thread for posting other websites relevent to this forum....:)

[bewolf]

Peripheral Neuropathy... http://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/poncelet.html

[glenntaj]

to replace the others "lost":

www.neuropathy.org

The Neuropathy Association, New York, NY

TNA has an index of types of neuropathy. At the site click on one of the categories, such as "Immune Neuropathies", and you get a pdf document including epidemiology, symptoms, risk factors, labratory signs, prognosis . . .very good starting point for understanding various neuropathies.

http://www.neuro.wustl.edu/neuromuscular/naltbrain.html

This is the diagnostics entry point for the neuropathy section of the huge neuromuscular conditions database at Washington University of St. Louis' medical website. It is written primarily in outline form, and mostly for medical professionals, but it is extraordinarily comprehensive; going through the links and sub links reveals a wealth of info on neuropathy (and other neuromuscular conditions).

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/poncelet.html

An Algorithm for the Evaluation of Peripheral Neuropathy

The famous Poncelet protocols. Outside of neurology textbooks, this article has become the "gold-standard" guidleine for many physicians and neuros for investigating the causes of potential neuropathies. The flow charts are particularly instructive (and good to show ingornat physicians).

www.lizajane.org

The hopefully equally famous neuropathic condition testing spreadsheets from our good friend Liza Jane, listing just about any test one can think of to investigate neural conditons. Its format enables one to track test results over time to look for patterns, and to suggest tests to doctors they may not otherwise think of.

http://www.thecni.org/reviews/13-2-p07-treihaft.htm

Painful Feet: The Small Fiber Neuropathies

One of the best articles I know written about small-fiber neuropathies, which can be difficult to diagnose, as "standard" test for neuropathy often come up "normal" and fail to reveal them (and meanwhile patients suffer). The reference list is excellent--it includes many of the seminal papers on skin biopsy, autonomic testing, and small-fiber vasculitis and other causes of small-fiber dysfunction (these can themselves be investigated if one wants).

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/intguide/jsp/showintguidepage.jsp?fn=CAP_LabDiagnosis_Periphera lNeurop.htm

QUEST DIAGNOSTICS, Laboratory Diagnosis of Peripheral Neuropathy

A small but dense clinical application paper about laboratory tests to investigate causes of peripheral neuroapthy. Dr. Latov heads the Cornell Weill Center for Peripheral Neuropathy in New York City, and he and his staff may be the world's leading experts on immune-mediated neuropathies (not that they're slouches in other realms, either). (All docs there are both researchers and clinicians--and, I can tell you from personal experience, and informed patient can have great discussions with them.)

www.dcmsonline.org/jax-medicine/2000journals/august2000/neuropathies.htm

Current Concepts In The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Peripheral Neuropathies

Another good paper--this one form Dr. Alan Berger and his colleagues at Jacksonville Shands. It provides a good overview of diagnosis and treatment options for various kinds of neuropathies, and suggests a particular categorizing method to understand them.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/26/5/1553

Diabetic Care, Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy

If you ever wanted to understand diabetic autonomic neuropathy, this article's for you. In fact, Dr. Aaron Vinik is probably the world's leading expert on diabetic neuropathy of all kinds, and googling his name can keep you busy for months. (This article has a reference list one could choke on, but it contains almost every important paper on diabetic neuropathy written in the last 30 years.)

http://www.neuropathymd.org/topical/18/Neuropathy%20and%20Monoclonal%20Gammopathy.pdf#sea rch='Latov%20Monoclonal'

Peripheral Neuropathy and Monoclonal Gammopathy

Another Latov article on an often overlooked generator of neuropathy--para or M-proteins in the blood, sometimes related to blood dyscrasias.

And--for those who like to look up many conditions in one place, I highly recommend the Emedicine series of articles; just go to emedicine.com. You have to sign up as a user, but then you can peruse the database. The material is dense--written for medical personnel, again--but highly comprehensive.

[~Kaelie]

Excellent paper on meds for neuropathic pain:

http://www.pain.com/sections/professional/cme_article/articlefull.cfm?id=246

[LizaJane]

www.lizajane.org

I've posted charts there which list the tests useful for making a diagnosis for the cause of pn. Please check it out. Download the charts and use however you like. But please, ask you doctors to give you copies of your lab tests each time something is done, and keep your own records of the results.

[dahlek]

Search up www.Neuroexam.com A site that gives a good outline of what a neuro does each step of an exam and why. Remember that diagnosing anything 'neuro', especially PN is a process of eliminating other conditions.

[dahlek]

together. It's primarily about diabetic neuropathies but there is a section on PN. Start reading about the diabetic aspects and then 'progress'. It's written for professionals, but if you get 10% on your first reading you are getting there!

http://telemedicine.org/stamford.htm

Go to the index top left and click on the diabetes skin part...then click away!

- j

[mrsdoubtfyre]

This is a new book out, that is rather small.

It goes into defining most of the neuropathies out there.
There are no details however.
And his nutritional advice is poor. There are some statements as to
B12, but its mention in two places has a glaring typo...
Suggesting 500 milligrams a day... NOT...

But for people who need to know what types of neuropathy there are,
and need to learn the terminology...it may be helpful.
Having a working knowledge of medical lingo however, is necessary for full
benefit from this book.

The end of the book has personal stories, and they contrast remarkably to the text preceding. And of course there are no comments from the doctor about
them. But they are very useful to read anyway.

As usual with the medical community... doctors are content with labels..
label and identify, is the norm. All the rest sort of falls in between the cracks.
After the LABEL we would like a SOLUTION!

Peripheral Neuropathy: When the Numbness, Weakness, and Pain Won't Stop (American Academy of Neurology) by Norman Latov (Paperback - Nov 15, 2006)

[nide44]

This is a very helpful overview of the onset, Dx, treatment, Rx, causes, etc. regarding PN (published 1998- American Family Physician - Noelle Poncelet, MD):

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/poncelet.html

"The diagnosis of peripheral neuropathies can be frustrating, time consuming and costly. Careful clinical and electrodiagnostic assessment, with attention to the pattern of involvement and the types of nerve fibers most affected, narrows the differential diagnosis and helps to focus the laboratory evaluation. An algorithmic approach to the evaluation and differential diagnosis of a patient with peripheral neuropathy is presented, based on important elements of the clinical history and physical examination, the use of electromyography and nerve conduction studies, autonomic testing, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and nerve biopsy findings. The underlying cause of axonal neuropathies can frequently be treated; demyelinating neuropathies are generally managed with the assistance of a neurologist".

(I just realized this is a double post, from the first listed....but I'll leve it in, anyway)