This article discusses the relationship between hepatitis C and nervous system abnormalities. Inc. People with Hepatitis C who suffer numbness or tingling in their extremities know from experience there is an association between HCV and neuropathy. Among other symptoms, EMC can cause nervous system abnormalities. Researchers have not yet explained the precise connection between HCV, EMC, and neuropathy, nor have they found significantly effective treatments, but knowledge is sure to increase as more people are diagnosed with HCV and its symptoms increasingly studied. Neuropathy refers to any disease of the nervous system resulting from localized inflammation of the nerves.
Patients complain of numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness.
A physical examination may also reveal decreased deep tendon reflexes. Occasionally, arm and back pain occurs. One patient has even blamed the nerve inflammation for lost teeth. If symptoms derive from brain malfunction, the condition is an encephalopathy, or central nervous system disease, and the symptoms are more sinister than those of peripheral neuropathy. A team led by George W. Petty reported two cases of encephalopathy in HCV-infected patients in the July 1996 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.