Originally Posted by glenntaj

--yes, the most common type of non-length dependent small-fiber neuropathy seems to result from attack on the dorsal root ganglia, with Sjogren's being a common cause:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/antib...uron.html#sfsn


This is also referred to by some as neuronopathy (as you can see from the site in the link), as the cell bodies are actually attacked preferentially to the fiber ends.

There are some paraneoplastic cases of this, and a number of idiopathic ones; autoimmune mechanisms are suspected in these cases as well, though there's some evidence that in some people abnormal glucose tolerance may attack the cell bodies as well as the fibers. And, there are some toxic cases, particularly post-chemotherapy (hardly surprising).

The problem here is that when axonal fiber deteriorate, given the right conditions, they may regenerate, or other fibers from the same neurons may grow into the areas to take over function, but if cell bodies are damaged, recovery is a lot more difficult.