Diagnostic Approach of Peripheral Neuropathy with Nerve Biopsy

Peripheral neuropathy is a common disease that is frequently encountered in clinical practice. Even if metabolic, toxic and nutritional disorders are major causes of neuropathy, about 20% of cases remain cryptogenic. Nerve biopsy is often the final step in the diagnostic work-up of neuropathies. Pathologic evaluation of peripheral nerve can provide specific diagnosis or clinically relevant information. However, the value of peripheral nerve biopsy is sometimes questioned due to complication and the recent development of molecular techinques for diagnosis of hereditary neuropathy. This review will be discussed about the indication, method, and limitations of nerve biopsy.prohibitio