title: Cellular infiltrates in skin and sural nerve of patients with polyneuropathies.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic usefulness of skin punch biopsies with emphasis on visualization and quantification of T-cells and macrophages in patients with polyneuropathies.
  
  
  
  We quantified inflammatory cells in skin samples (lower leg, upper thigh) in 187 patients and compared data with counts in their sural nerve biopsies and with skin biopsies from 32 healthy volunteers.
  
  
  
  Vessel-bound T-cells and macrophages were increased in proximal and distal skin samples of neuropathy patients compared with controls (P < 0.001 in both). Patients with vasculitic neuropathy had increased T-cell and macrophage counts in distal skin compared with controls (P < 0.01; for scattered macrophages/mm2diagnostic sensitivity 71% and specificity 79%). In patients with vasculitic neuropathy, distal skin perivascular inflammatory cell counts also correlated with those in sural nerve biopsies (P < 0.001).
  
  
  
  Neuropathy per se may lead to skin inflammation. In cases of possible vasculitic neuropathy, skin biopsy may be an additional tool to support the diagnosis. Muscle Nerve 55: 884-893, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nurcan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Üçeyler
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Braunsdorf
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ekkehard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kunze
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Riediger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scheytt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Šarka
authors.initials: Š
authors.lastname: Divisova
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Can Ebru
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Bekircan-Kurt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus Viktor
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Toyka
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sommer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012372:ROC Curve; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*; D013497:Sural Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Langerhans cells; T cells; macrophages; polyneuropathy; skin punch biopsy; sural nerve biopsy; vasculitic neuropathy