Some toxic, inflammation-triggered forms of peripheral neuropathy can develop rapidly over days or weeks, while most other conditions can take months, years, or even. The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can vary depending on the type you have. They can also occur quickly or slowly. Diabetic neuropathy describes a type of nerve damage in people with diabetes that affects several nerves in the body. Diabetic neuropathy usually develops slowly over time and can cause symptoms, such as pain, numbness, and tingling.
The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can range from mild to severe, but are rarely life-threatening. Symptoms depend on the type of nerve fibers affected and the type and severity of the damage. Symptoms may appear over the course of days, weeks, or years. In some cases, symptoms improve on their own and may not require any specific care or treatment. Many types of peripheral neuropathy cause pain.
Neuropathic pain sometimes worsens at night and interrupts sleep. It may be because pain receptors are activated spontaneously without any known triggers, or to problems with signal processing in the spinal cord that can cause severe pain when lightly touched, which is usually painless. For example, a person may feel pain when touching their sheets. Sensorimotor polyneuropathy is a generalized (systemic) process that damages nerve cells, nerve fibers (axons), and nerve membranes (myelin sheath).
Damage to the nerve cell cover causes nerve signals to slow down or stop. Damage to the nerve fiber or to the entire nerve cell can cause the nerve to stop working. Some neuropathies develop over the years, while others may start and worsen within hours or days. The symptoms of polyneuropathy may appear suddenly (acute, occurring over a few days or a couple of weeks) or develop slowly and appear over a period of time (chronic, lasting for months or years), depending on the cause. These nerves can send inadequate signals, such as static signals on a telephone line, or they can send distorted signals, such as a wavy television image.
Or, like a severed cable, they can stop emitting signals completely. Nerve damage can develop rapidly, as is often the case with injury-induced neuropathy, or it can appear gradually and continue to progress over time, as is often the case with diabetic neuropathy. The INC is also developing and testing biomarkers (signs that may indicate the diagnosis or progression of a disease) and measures of clinical outcomes that will be needed in future clinical trials to determine if people participating in the trials respond to the treatments being tested. Since most peripheral neuropathies cannot be cured or reversed, the goal of treatment is to stop or limit their progression and provide lasting relief from symptoms so that you can lead a normal, active life. Some forms of peripheral neuropathy that are toxic and caused by inflammation can develop rapidly over days or weeks, while most other conditions take months or years or even decades to show up.
The NINDS has supported the network's Inherited Neuropathy Consortium (INC), which works to characterize the natural history of several different forms of neuropathy, identify the genes that modify a person's symptoms, and develop therapies to prevent or reduce nerve damage. Several studies funded by the NINDS focus on understanding how the production and maintenance of myelin (specific proteins and membrane organization) is regulated in Schwann cells and how mutations in the genes involved in these processes cause peripheral neuropathies. Together, these diverse areas of research will promote the development of new therapeutic and preventive strategies for peripheral neuropathies. NIH-supported researchers have identified a common pathway to several types of peripheral axonal neuropathies (APN), including several forms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and have identified a potential drug target that could help treat the disease. NINDS-funded research ranges from clinical studies on the genetics and natural history of inherited neuropathies to discoveries of new causes and treatments for neuropathy, and basic scientific research on the biological mechanisms responsible for chronic neuropathic pain.
In addition to efforts to treat or prevent underlying nerve damage, other NINDS-supported studies are providing new strategies to alleviate neuropathic pain, fatigue and other symptoms of neuropathy. In peripheral inflammatory neuropathies, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), the body's immune system mistakenly attacks peripheral nerves, damaging myelin and weakening signaling along the affected nerves. This can cause different types of diabetic neuropathy, such as peripheral, autonomic, focal and proximal neuropathies. Keep reading to learn more about how long it takes for diabetic neuropathy to develop and what symptoms may occur.
Similarly, for peripheral neuropathies that may be related to exposure to toxins, such as alcohol, minimizing exposure may reduce the risk of developing neuropathy. However, it is more common for a person to have diabetes for several years before developing diabetic neuropathy. Some genetic variants cause mild neuropathies with symptoms that begin in early adulthood and cause negligible or no impairment.
