Maxfacts

Neuropathies include a range of diseases and damage to nerves, leading to various nerve malfunctions and dysfunction. Neuropathies can be acute or chronic conditions. These can affect the central nervous system (for example, after a stroke) or the peripheral nervous system (all nerves other than the brain and spinal cord) in regions all over the body, including the head and neck. Peripheral nerves tend to be either sensory or motor-control nerves, although special sense (such as taste) and mixed function nerves exist.

Accordingly, neuropathies lead to a wide variety of signs and symptoms. Where motor-control nerves are affected, motion will be affected (for example, eye lid or lips, or swallowing). Where sensory nerves are affected, this will result in abnormalities of sensation (dysaesthesia). Dysaesthesia can range from relatively unusual complete absence of sensation all the way to hyperaesthesia, where otherwise normal stimulus produces extreme sensitivity.

We discuss these diverse conditions, signs and symptoms under one heading because

• there are many common causes across the range
• management and treatment of neuropathies are very similar across the range
• there are close anatomical relationships between the most commonly affected different types of peripheral nerves in the head and neck region.