The first time many people hear of peripheral neuropathy is when they or a loved one is first diagnosed with the condition. It is a very common condition, with an estimated 30 million Americans affected; however, there are remarkably low levels of public awareness on peripheral neuropathy, or PN, given the number of patients who have the disorder.

Often difficult to diagnose, PN is a non-life threatening secondary disorder—and one of the many chronic pain conditions that is invisible to the naked eye. It occurs when nerves are damaged or destroyed and can no longer send messages from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, skin, and other parts of the body. Symptoms usually start with numbness, prickling, or tingling in the toes or fingers, and may spread to the feet or hands, causing sensations of burning, freezing, throbbing and/or shooting pain that is often worse at night. The pain may be constant or periodic, and is typically felt equally on both sides of the body (eg, both hands or both feet). Some types of PN develop suddenly, while others progress slowly over many years.For those living with PN, obtaining answers is not always easy. In most cases, patients are frustrated with not knowing the cause of their neuropathy and their neurologists do not always know how to improve their symptoms. Research is paramount to these patients’ mental, physical, and emotional states, as it may provide hope that a cure is on the horizon.This past summer, The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy (FPN) surveyed a segment of its membership base (all patients), of which 230 members responded, to learn more about how the condition affects quality of life. Unsurprisingly, pain was a significant factor, with the average respondent reporting moderate pain (via a 1-to-10 scale) on a daily basis. A majority also reported that PN affects their day-to-day activities, mobility, and overall sense of well being in a moderate to significant way. On a positive note, those surveyed shared that PN had little impact on their ability to live independently, including their ability to drive.

New treatment options that may work for many PN patients are in development. For example, therapies that target pain-specific ion channels and advances in neuromodulation using electrical stimulation are being studied. Additionally, initial strategies for preventing chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, and for preventing PN in diabetics, are proving more beneficial.