does painful emg test indicatr nerve damage

A α- and Aβ-fibers are classified as large nerve fibers and A δ- and C-fibers are classified as small nerve fibers. The peripheral nervous system is classified into different types of nerves, based on diameter, myelin sheet and conduction velocity, see Fig. 1A. Improving diagnostic methods is important to improve recognition of symptoms in SFN patients, it can improve insight of pathophysiology and will facilitate future drug trials.

Currently, the prevalence of SFN is probably highly underestimated due to lack of a gold standard and awareness among clinical physicians. As a consequence, SFN is difficult to diagnose following the regular procedures. Common nerve conduction tests only assess large myelinated nerve fibers. Table 1 shows an overview of some underlying disorders. SFN is associated with a great variety of diseases as underlying mechanisms, but can also present idiopathic. The autono-mic small nerve fibers are responsible for thermoregulatory, sudomotor, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urogenital and other autonomic functions. Som-atic small nerve fibers transmit information about temperature, pain and itch. General symptoms are fatigue, cognitive disturbances, widespread musculoskeletal pain, hea-dache and temporomandibular disorder. As a consequence, the potential symptoms are numerous and show a large impact on quality of life. SFN can affect either small sensory fibers, autonomic fibers or both, resulting in sensory changes, autonomic dysfunction or combined symptoms. Incidence and prevalence are estimated to be 12/100.000 and 53/100.000 respectively and are expected to rise with increasing awareness of SFN worldwide. Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is a disorder of the small myelinated A δ-fibers and unmyelinated C-fibers.

Does painful emg test indicatr nerve damage