--as there are certainly causes of small-fiber disruption that are non-length dependent but don't necessarily show evidence of preferential dorsal root ganglia involvement.

A lot of these are toxic in nature--chemotherapy, ciguetera, mercury. And there is thought that some might be autoimmune--some sensory variations of Guillain-Barre like syndromes (certainly one theory that was advanced in my case). It is also thought that in neurological gluten sensitivity there may be involvement all up and down the body.

But, certainly, such abnormal presentations should be investigated for conditions that involve the dorsal root ganglia.