Melanie Cole, MS (Host): Welcome to Back to Health, your
source for the latest in health, wellness and medical care, keeping you
informed so you can make informed healthcare choices for yourself and your
whole family.

Melanie Cole, MS: Back to Health features conversations
about trending health topics and medical breakthroughs from our team of
world-renowned physicians at Weill Cornell Medicine. I'm your host, Melanie
Cole. And joining me today is Dr. Norman Latov. He's a Professor of Neurology
at Weill Cornell Medical College, and he's here to give us an overview of
idiopathic neuropathy today.

Dr. Latov, it's a pleasure to have you join us. Can you tell
the listeners what is idiopathic neuropathy and how is it different from other
types of neuropathy? What does idiopathic even mean?

Dr Norman Latov: Well, neuropathy is a general term used
to describe anything which damages the peripheral nerves, and can cause
weakness, sensory loss and pain. There are many, many causes. When we can't
find a cause or don't know the cause, we call it idiopathic. It's a fancy way
of saying we don't know. And it obviously presents a dilemma for both the
physician and the patient. We don't really study things we don't know very
much. So, the physicians stay on guidelines as to how to manage it, and
patients are left not knowing what they have or what to expect. One of my
patients actually aptly called it a combination word of idiotic and pathetic.
But still, we have to figure out a way of what to do if one has idiopathic
neuropathy.

Melanie Cole, MS: So, we don't know the cause. We don't
know about it, as you say. And I love that little kind of moniker. But are
there risk factors for developing any sort of neuropathy, whether it's diabetes
or peripheral vascular issues? Tell us about some of the risk factors for neuropathy
itself.

Dr Norman Latov: As we mentioned, there are many causes.
The most common is diabetes. And other causes are less common. There are
infectious causes or immune causes. Cancer can do it. There are nutritional
causes, toxic causes, drug-induced, and some are hereditary. So, having any
disorder affecting those systems can result in neuropathy and we usually screen
for all these conditions in someone in the course of evaluation of their
disease.

Melanie Cole, MS: Well, as you're evaluating for patients
that might suffer from diabetes or have some of these issues you just
mentioned, what are some of the symptoms that they might even notice for
neuropathy and potential complications that can arise if it's not looked into?

Dr Norman Latov: Well, neuropathy affects both motor and
sensory function and presentation can be very varied. But if you ask 10
patients about what symptoms they have, you may get 10 different answers. But
if you get a hundred, you get the same 10. And they usually involve spontaneous
sensations, which can be annoying or painful. Sometimes it sounds strange,
burning sensations, stinging, itching, stabbing, electric-like sensations. One
can develop weakness in the legs or arms. Sometimes that's obvious and
sometimes it's more subtle, such as the legs feel heavy or it's more difficult
to go up and down stairs or the legs tire more easily when you walk with other
people and you lag behind. And any of these could be symptoms of neuropathy.
And there are other conditions which cause these too, so evaluation includes
sorting out where the symptoms originate and finding the underlying cause.

Melanie Cole, MS: And once you've done that, what can
you do for someone that's suffering from some of these symptoms?

Dr Norman Latov: Well, if you find the underlying cause,
most of those are treated and then the neuropathy can improve sometimes
completely, sometimes partially, but at least it shouldn't get worse. It's rare
that the neuropathy progresses without being able to find a cause, but that does
happen on occasion. Sometimes that's because the cause hasn't been looked for
hard enough or in some tests have been missed or sometimes because we just
don't know enough. So when we, find the underlying cause, we treat that. Once
it's treated, if people are still symptomatic, then there are treatment for the
symptoms. So for people with weakness, physical therapy is usually helpful,
orthotics, other aids to mobility can help. And for sensory symptoms which are
painful, there are medications that treat neuropathic pain. It's a matter of
trial and error, but most people could be helped.

Melanie Cole, MS: And what can we do for ourselves, Dr.
Latov, when we're talking about managing some of these? And if someone has
diabetes or some other condition, what are some of the things you recommend to
your patients as far as lifestyle changes that can help improve their condition
and possibly even help them prevent from occurring in the first place?

Dr Norman Latov: Well, first, it's important to get the
proper evaluation, diagnosis and treatment. After that, we really don't have
any medications which help the nerves regenerate. So, the body does have some
regenerative capacity however, and we need to optimize that. So, staying
healthy, not being overweight, getting enough sleep, eating well, getting rest
and exercise, all those things help the body overcome the neuropathy and help
regeneration.

Melanie Cole, MS: And that's so interesting too, because
regeneration of nerves, that's an interesting topic in and of itself. If you
were to give one key message, Dr. Latov, to listeners that have diabetes or
another condition that predisposes them to a type of neuropathy, what do you
tell them? What would you like them to know?

Dr Norman Latov: When people come down with symptoms of
neuropathy, which does sometimes range, it's a frightening situation. They're
afraid of whether they're going to be able to not be able to walk or feel
things or whether there's some underlying condition, which is going to kill
them. And it's important to know that in most cases, the neuropathy can be
treated and the progression can be stopped and there could be some help instead
of improving function and relieving pain. So, one has to stay hopeful and make
sure that you get the proper evaluation and care.

Melanie Cole, MS: That's great information and thank you
so much, sir, for joining us today and giving us information on something that
maybe not a lot of people know about, but really could cause some serious
complications if left undetected. So, thank you so very much for joining us.

And Weill Cornell Medicine continues to see our patients in
person as well as through video visits. And you can be confident of the safety
of your appointments at Weill Cornell Medicine.

That concludes today's episode of Back to Health. We'd like to
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so much for joining us today.

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