autoimmune disease and nerve damage

If you want to know about the link between autoimmune diseases and peripheral nerve damage, if you want to know if autoimmune diseases can cause damage to nerve fibers?

If you want to know more about autoimmune diseases and peripheral neuropathies that follow them.

We recommend that you read on.

One of the types of neurological disorders in the field of autoimmune diseases is peripheral neuropathies.

 

 

What is meant by peripheral neuropathy?

Peripheral neuropathy occurs when, for some reason, the nerve fibers that come out of your brain and spinal cord are damaged outside the skull and outside the spine and their function is impaired. There are said to be more than a hundred types of peripheral neuropathy.

 

Is there a link between autoimmune diseases and nerve fibers?

In the following, we will talk about the relationship between autoimmune diseases and nerve damage.

 

What do autoimmune diseases mean?

You may be wondering what is meant by autoimmune diseases. We know that the immune system of a healthy person has the task of fighting and destroying foreign cells, foreign agents and infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. In fact, a healthy immune system should only be able to detect and destroy foreign agents.

Sometimes it happens that a person’s immune system mistakenly sees and identifies certain tissues and cells in his or her own body as foreign tissue, in this way, the immune system is activated against it and damages its own cells, causing inflammation and destruction, and this is where we say that a person has an autoimmune disease. There are different types of autoimmune diseases.

 

What is the relationship between autoimmune diseases and their effect on nerve fibers?

We said that autoimmune diseases occur when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and damages them, causing inflammation and destroying them. groups of these autoimmune disorders, such as MS and Diabetes can damage nerve fibers, Damage to nerve fibers occurs directly and independently of any other factor. In addition, a person with diabetes develops peripheral neuropathy over time.

In other words, uncontrolled sugar in the long run can cause direct damage to nerve fibers as well as damage to blood vessels that carry oxygen and blood and peripheral nerve fibers, so one of the manifestations that can be found in autoimmune diseases is irritation of peripheral nerves or so-called peripheral neuropathy.

So, we want to see what are the autoimmune diseases that cause peripheral neuropathies and what are the signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy caused by autoimmune diseases.

 

What are the manifestations of peripheral neuropathies?

Some of the most common signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy are as follows:

• Numbness in the legs, hands, and arms
• Tingling sensation in the arms and legs and hands
• The sensation of pain, these pains are usually sharp and like an electric shock. There is burning and it can be occasional or continuous.
• Lack of sensation in the affected areas
• There is pain, which is usually present at rest.
• The senses of wearing gloves or socks when you are not wearing them at all
• Muscle weakness
• Coordination problems
• increased sensitivity to very light touches, such as the soles of the feet of a person with peripheral neuropathy, may feel pain and hypersensitivity even when lying down and a soft blanket is placed on the foot.

 

What autoimmune diseases are associated with peripheral neuropathies?

These autoimmune diseases are as follows:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Also, after these diseases and autoimmune disorders, metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus type two are the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy in people around the world.

 

What is the treatment for peripheral neuropathies following autoimmune disorders?

The first step in a person who sees a doctor with a neurological disorder is to discover the underlying cause of this peripheral neuropathy so that appropriate treatment strategies can be chosen based on the original and correct diagnosis so that they can manage the signs and symptoms. A person who has peripheral neuropathy, following a disease and autoimmune disorder, will have different treatments depending on the type of disease.

For example, a person who has peripheral neuropathy due to type 1 diabetes should have better and more accurate control of blood sugar levels or a person who has peripheral neuropathies due to rheumatoid arthritis should use standard treatment protocols for rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition to medications, these people also use special diets.

Physiotherapy is necessary to reduce the effects of immune disorders on the nerves.

As we have said, one of the most annoying and common manifestations of peripheral nerve damage and autoimmune disorders is pain following peripheral neuropathies. To reduce this pain, the following treatment methods can be used according to the individual’s condition:

Corticosteroid injections into the epidural space or so-called injection steroid

Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation:

Doctors believe that in some people who suffer from peripheral nerve injuries due to autoimmune disorders and diseases, the goal of physician therapy should be to provide a treatment that minimizes the pain and discomfort of the sufferer, so that one can have a quality life and resume an active life.

Therefore, it is recommended that you try to go to reputable medical clinics in the first stages and strictly avoid self-medication to control the symptoms of peripheral nerve injuries.