55-Yr-Old Woman With Neuropathy Walks Again After 17 Years, Thanks To Cell-Based Therapy

Neuropathy can result from many conditions and events. Diabetes is the most common cause of this condition. Read on to know more

Neuropathy, often called peripheral neuropathy, is very common and affects people of all ages, but older people are at increased risk. The condition indicates a problem within the peripheral nervous system, the network of nerves outside your brain and spinal cord. Neuropathy results when one or more nerves damaged or become dysfunctional, leading to numbness, tingling, muscle weakness and pain in the affected area. While some neuropathies can be easily treated and sometimes cured, others especially diabetes-related neuropathy can lead to limb amputation. Cell-based therapy may benefit some patients with neuropathy.

A 55-Year-old woman with neuropathy was able to walk freely without pain after 17 Years with the help of cell-based therapy and physiotherapy rehabilitation. Kanchan Tahilramani, a housewife from Nagpur, was diagnosed with neuropathy with axonal degeneration when she was 38-year-old.

She was successfully treated by a team of doctors headed by Dr. Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative Medicine Researcher, Navi Mumbai.

According to Dr. Mahajan, our body has natural healing mechanisms that can be capitalized to treat various conditions. He explained that autologous cell-based therapy/regenerative medicine utilizes various cells, growth factors, peptides, and other molecules that target the core problems rather than simply treat the signs and symptoms of a disease.

Symptoms of neuropathy to watch out for

Talking about the case, Dr. Mahajan said, "Neuropathy is the damage of one or more nerves causing numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, and pain in the hands and feet. Delaying treatment would have further affected her ability to walk and she could have lost the ability to do her daily activities independently."

The patient Kanchan experienced a sudden onset of leg pain when she was 38 years old, making it difficult to move her legs. Her condition kept worsening over the years, and she couldn't walk on uneven surfaces, couldn't do her daily chores with ease, required assistance from her family members, and had numbness in her feet. Her grip started becoming weak and couldn't hold things, there is swelling in both feet and altered sensations in the leg.

Tahilramani shared, "I was appalled and failed to understand the reason behind the sudden onset of leg pain. Even after trying various home remedies like hot and cold therapy to manage swelling and inflammation, elevation to improve the blood flow to the legs or stretching to overcome pain, and medication, nothing worked in my favour. My leg was numb with no sensation and that would bother me."

Dr. Mahajan recalled, "On arrival Kanchan was having weakness in her grip, muscle loss of palms, weakness during walking, hyper extension of both knees, imbalance during walking needs support, tendency to fall, etc. Few tests were performed that revealed the patient had neuropathy."

He added, "She was advised physiotherapy rehabilitation including strengthening exercises and stretching exercises. Improvement in ease of walking was noticed in patient within 10-15 days of the treatment. Improvement in grip strength and sensations was noticed after a month with regular physiotherapy/exercises, as advised. The patient continues to show improvement. No special precautions, only continued rehabilitation and periodic follow up was advised."

Tahilramani can now stand on her feet like before and walk properly without any support. "After the treatment and physiotherapy, the leg pain, swelling, inflammation, numbness, and tingling sensation disappeared. Now, I have started doing my day-to-day activities with ease," she stated.

Causes of neuropathy

Neuropathy can result from many conditions and events that impact health, including:

• Diabetes: Diabetes is the most common cause of small fiber neuropathy, which causes painful burning sensations in the hands and feet.
• Trauma: Injuries from falls, car accidents, fractures or sports activities.
• Autoimmune disorders and infections
• Vascular disorders
• Certain medications and treatments: Some antibiotics, anti-seizures medications and HIV medications, as well as cancer chemotherapy and radiation, can cause neuropathy.
• Inherited disorders: Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is believed to be the most common cause hereditary neuropathy.

Medical conditions like kidney disorders, liver disorders, hypothyroidism, tumours, myeloma, lymphoma and monoclonal gammopathy, can also cause neuropathy.