Statin Neuropathy Masquerading as Diabetic Autoimmune Polyneuropathy
- Tom Brooks Vaughan, MD and
- David S.H. Bell, MD
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Tom Brooks Vaughan, MD, Division of Endocrinology, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Faculty Office Tower, Suite 758, 510 20th St. S., Birmingham, AL 35294. E-mail: brooks{at}uab.edu
Statin-induced neuropathy is increasingly described. Proposed mechanisms include an alteration in cholesterol synthesis, producing a disturbance in the cholesterol-rich neuronal membrane, or in the activity of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10), a mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme inhibited by statins leading to neuronal damage (1). The entire class is implicated, and both polyneuropathy and mononeuropathy have been described with improvement or even complete resolution occurring with cessation of therapy (1). In all cases, clinical improvement occurred soon after statins were discontinued, and in the absence of specific clinical, …
