Different patterns of uremic polyneuropathy: clinicopathologic study.

Ten patients with a uremic polyneuropathy were investigated. Chronic renal failure was associated with a variety of neuropathies, including an acute axonal neuropathy, a progressive axonal neuropathy with secondary segmental demyelination, and a predominantly demyelinative neuropathy. All patterns were associated with distal degeneration of fibers evidenced by axonal sprouting observed on single-fiber preparations. The etiology of such variations in pathology of uremic neuropathy is still not clearly understood.