© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd tion for nerve biopsy refl ects the diagnosis most often sought in this context, namely a multifocal neuropathy due to vasculitis, which may be tissue-specifi c. Many other conditions, however, can be diagnosed or suggested by the fi ndings on nerve biopsy (Box 1). The potential usefulness of the investigation must be balanced against the risk of complications (l...

Sural nerve biopsy may, in selected cases, give valuable information in the investigation of patients with polyneuropathy. The prevalence and severity of patient discomfort after fascicular nerve biopsy was investigated in 67 patients by a mailed questionnaire. A lasting (greater than 6 months) significant discomfort was found in 6 patients (11%), in 3 of these the symptoms were graded as sever...

Skin biopsy has become a widely used tool to investigate small calibre sensory nerves including somatic unmyelinated intraepidermal nerve fibres (IENF), dermal myelinated nerve fibres, and autonomic nerve fibres in peripheral neuropathies and other conditions. Different techniques for tissue processing and nerve fibre evaluation have been used. In March 2004, a Task Force was set up under the a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Although spinal root abnormalities are known to occur, spinal MR examination is seldom performed in hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies (HMSN). The following work was undertaken to assess the MR imaging spectrum of lumbosacral spinal nerve root abnormalities and determine whether intradural nerve root involvement could be related to any biopsy feature. METHODS Ten...

We report a patient with an acute neuropathy initially mimicking Guillain-Barré syndrome, both clinically and electrophysiologically. Persistent eosinophilia, positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and eosinophilic vasculitis in sural nerve biopsy later confirmed Churg-Strauss syndrome. Since vasculitic neuropathy can present in an acute and fulminant form, the role of early antibody test...

OBJECTIVE To compare caudal block with intrarectal local anesthesia plus periprostatic nerve block for transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy. METHODS One hundred and ninety patients scheduled for transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy were randomized equally into Group-A who received caudal block (20 ml 1.2% lidocaine) and Group-B who received intrarectal local anesthesia (0.3%...

Sural nerve biopsy is a valuable tool for the diagnosis of neuropathic disorders. However, concerns of persisting pain and numbness resulting from traditional whole sural nerve biopsy have led to interfascicular dissection techniques with inconsistent benefits over whole nerve biopsy. In this study we describe a novel technique of atraumatic anterior fascicular sural nerve biopsy designed to pr...

Aim: We assessed the safety and efficacy of three different local anesthesia methods (pudendal nerve blockade, tenoxicam suppository and rectal lidocaine gel) before transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy of the prostate in this study. Materials and Methods: In our prospective and controlled study, 136 consecutive patients were randomized into four groups: men in group 1 (n=41) received no...

The decision to biopsy peripheral nerve should begin with a discussion between the requesting clinician and neuropathologist regarding the differential diagnosis since specialized procedures or an unusual sampling scheme may be required. Nerve biopsy has been shown to contribute to the diagnosis of primary and secondary neoplastic, ischemic (especially vasculitidies, particularly those confined...