Mononeuritis multiplex: association with infectious condition and familial background in a tropical environment: a case report.

Mononeuritis multiplex is characterized by an asymmetric pattern with affection of the peripheral nervous system; this form of polyneuropathy is often seen in non-systemic vasculitis. We present a case of multiplex neuropathy in a patient with histologicaly verified Hailey-Hailey disease. With the exception of this comorbidity--in its characteristic form presenting additionally with a superinfected subdermal node--we did not find any other possible etiologic factor possibly causative of multiplex neuritis. The diagnosis was confirmed by electrophysiological testing. To our knowledge, this is the first case report indicating a possible relationship between Hailey-Hailey disease and multiplex neuritis. There exists only one related study in the literature, which was conducted in Columbia--our patient's home country. This study delineates a clinically similar dermal disease (pemphigus foliaceus) in patients from rural Colombia (El Bagre). The authors detected anti-neuronal antibodies which were interpreted to be responsible for the pathognomonic burning sensations.