Different Patterns of Nerve Enlargement in Polyneuropathy Subtypes as Detected by Ultrasonography

Thepurposeofourstudywastoexaminehowthepathologictypeofpolyneuropathyaffectsnervesizeas assessed by high-resolution ultrasonography with a 15 MHz transducer. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the C5-C7 nerve roots and several upper and lower limb nerves at multiple sites was measured in 38 patients with acquired diffusesensorimotordemyelinatingoraxonalpolyneuropathyandin34healthycontrolsubjects.Significantdiffer- enceswerefoundamongthegroupsforallnerveandrootsegments:Bothtypesofpolyneuropathyarecharacterized by nerve enlargement in comparison to controls, but in different patterns. In demyelinating polyneuropathies, an additional degree of nerve thickening appears in proximal upper limb nerves and cervical nerve roots compared withaxonalpolyneuropathies.Withrespecttotheothernerves,asimilardegreeofnerveenlargementwasobserved inbothpatientgroups.Theseresultshighlightthatultrasonographymaybeacomplementarytoolindifferentiating polyneuropathies. (E-mail: erika.scheidl@gmail.com) 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.