Peripheral Nerve Disorders – Autonomic Nervous System Disorders

Also called: Dysautonomia

Your autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that controls involuntary actions, such as the beating of your heart and the widening or narrowing of your blood vessels. When something goes wrong in this system, it can cause serious problems, including

• Blood pressure problems
• Heart problems
• Trouble with breathing and swallowing
• Erectile dysfunction in men

Autonomic nervous system disorders can occur alone or as the result of another disease, such as Parkinson’s disease, alcoholism and diabetes. Problems can affect either part of the system, as in complex regional pain syndromes, or all of the system. Some types are temporary, but many worsen over time. When they affect your breathing or heart function, these disorders can be life-threatening.

Some autonomic nervous system disorders get better when an underlying disease is treated. Often, however, there is no cure. In that case, the goal of treatment is to improve symptoms.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

• Autonomic neuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Multiple system atrophy (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Neuritis, Peripheral neuritis, Peripheral neuropathy

Your peripheral nerves are the ones outside your brain and spinal cord. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral nerve disorders distort or interrupt the messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

There are more than 100 kinds of peripheral nerve disorders. They can affect one nerve or many nerves. Some are the result of other diseases, like diabetic nerve problems. Others, like Guillain-Barre syndrome, happen after a virus infection. Still others are from nerve compression, like carpal tunnel syndrome or thoracic outlet syndrome. In some cases, like complex regional pain syndrome and brachial plexus injuries, the problem begins after an injury. Some people are born with peripheral nerve disorders.

Symptoms often start gradually, and then get worse. They include

• Numbness
• Pain
• Burning or tingling
• Muscle weakness
• Sensitivity to touch

Treatment aims to treat any underlying problem, reduce pain and control symptoms.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

• Axillary nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Common peroneal nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Distal median nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Femoral nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Metabolic neuropathies (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Mononeuritis multiplex (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neuropathy secondary to drugs (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Peripheral neuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Radial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Sensorimotor polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Tibial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Ulnar nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)