skip to main | skip to sidebar

الخميس، 6 ديسمبر 2012

Why does neuropathy affect the feet first in many neuropathies?

Neurologists call this the length dependent affect.

If you think of a large electric transformer located in Boston with lines stretching all the way to California, it takes more energy for the current to reach California from Boston because of the length of wire it must travel. If there is a problem with the signal strength it is more likely to affect the receivers in California than in the Midwest or Boston area closer to the transmitted signal.

Since the feet are located at the far end of the nerves of the human body (California), the longest distance from the brain (Boston), it takes more push to get the signal to the feet and the signal from the feet to the brain. So if there is damage along the lines of the peripheral nervous system, it means that the feet will be affected before other parts of the body.

However, in some atypical neuropathies other parts of the body may be affected first because of the causes and location of the damage to the peripheral nerves in the upper body, so this principle is not absolute

0 التعليقات:

إرسال تعليق