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Review
. 2021 Jul:177:108932.
doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2021.108932. Epub 2021 Jun 30.

Rare diabetic neuropathies: It is not only distal symmetrical polyneuropathy

Georgia Samakidou  1 , Ioanna Eleftheriadou  1 , Anastasios Tentolouris  1 , Nikolaos Papanas  2 , Nikolaos Tentolouris  3
Affiliations
Review

Rare diabetic neuropathies: It is not only distal symmetrical polyneuropathy

Georgia Samakidou et al. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing at an epidemic level, leading to a consequent increase of its chronic complications, including neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy constitutes a heterogeneous group of disorders with distinct clinical presentations and pathophysiological mechanisms. These distinct forms may be categorised according to their clinical presentation as symmetrical (distal symmetrical polyneuropathy, autonomic and acute sensory neuropathy) and focal or multifocal (radiculoplexus neuropathies, entrapment syndromes, cranial palsies and other mononeuropathies). Additionally, people with diabetes may have neuropathies due to causes other than diabetes. The commonest forms of diabetic neuropathy are distal symmetrical polyneuropathy and autonomic neuropathy. However, clinicians should be aware that people with diabetes may suffer from less common forms of neuropathy and should be able to recognise their symptoms and signs. The recognition of the rare diabetic neuropathies is crucial, as they often lead to different clinical outcomes and require different management. The aim of the present narrative, non-systematic review is to outline the rare types of diabetic neuropathies.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic neuropathies; Mononeuropathies; Polyneuropathies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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