What is the cause of polyneuritis?

The occurrence of multiple peripheral neuritis may be due to various factors, such as the common poisoning or nutritional metabolic disorders, as well as some infections and allergic reactions. Pay attention to understanding these causes and prevent them correctly.

1. Poisoning

Such as heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury, phosphorus, drugs such as furacillins, isoniazid, streptomycin, phenytoin sodium, carbamazepine, vincristine, and organic compounds such as organophosphorus pesticides.

2. Nutritional metabolic disorders

Such as vitamin B deficiency, diabetes, uremia, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, pregnancy, etc.

3. Infection

It is often accompanied or secondary to various acute and chronic infections, such as dysentery, tuberculosis, infectious hepatitis, typhoid fever, mumps, etc. In a few cases, it may be caused by direct invasion of peripheral nerves by pathogens, such as leprosy neuritis.

4. Allergic and allergic reactions

Such as neuritis after serum treatment or vaccination.

5. Others

Such as connective tissue diseases, hereditary diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, hereditary ataxia peripheral neuritis, hereditary sensory radiculoneuropathy, etc. In addition, various cancers of the body can also cause polyneuritis, and may occur several months before the primary lesion shows clinical symptoms, so this should be a cause for concern.

Except for inflammatory changes in peripheral nerves caused by a few causes (such as leprosy), pathological changes are mainly segmental demyelination and axonal degeneration of peripheral nerves, or both. A few cases may be accompanied by changes in the neuromuscular junction.