University of Michigan study suggests millions of people suffer from undiagnosed nerve damage

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – More than 20 million Americans suffer from a nerve injury known as neuropathy that affects their arms, legs, hands or feet.

A new study from Michigan suggests that the number could be significantly higher due to the large number of undiagnosed patients.

The study, led by the University of Michigan and Hurley Medical Center, found that nearly 75% of patients at a primary care clinic in Flint had nerve damage.

Dr. Melissa Elafros, a neurologist at the University of Michigan, said many suffer in silence.

“We’ve learned that patients who come to the primary care doctor often have multiple problems, and neuropathy symptoms aren’t at the top of their list,” Elafros said. “So as neurologists, we need to come up with a better way to detect this problem early.”

It is important to inform your doctor about the symptoms early.

“Neuropathy is a neurological condition. It’s basically nerve damage. So nerves come out of the spine and go into the arm,” Elafros said. “When you use the legs and damage them, people have a lot of different symptoms, things like numbness, tingling, pain, which can be debilitating. Or maybe they have no symptoms at all and just notice that their balance is not good.”

The most common cause of neuropathy is diabetes.

“Many people who know people who have neuropathy have severe diabetes,” Elafros said. “Other causes can be overweight or obesity. So it could be a genetic condition, it could run in the family, or it could be a vitamin deficiency. So there are many different causes.”

If left untreated, it can lead to numerous problems – including foot injuries and even amputations.

The lead researchers said that while they knew neuropathy was common, the study found significantly more cases than they expected.

The team is now working with another outpatient clinic for further research.