n-Hexane gives cause to one of the most common toxic polyneuropathies seen in poorly ventilated factories. It is a sensory-motor polyneuropathy ending up with axonal degeneration. Nerve biopsy reveals paranodal axonal swelling and secondary myelin retraction in early stages. Myelin retraction imitates demyelination causing focal conduction block and failure before axonal degeneration emerges. This brings to mind the new category of nodo-paranodopathy described first for anti-ganglioside antibody-mediated neuropathies, which can be proved by electrophysiological re-evaluations. We, herein, discuss the clinical and electrophysiological follow-up of three patients with n-hexane neuropathy and remark overlaps with new concept nodo-paranodopathy.
Keywords: Conduction block; Nodo-paranodopathy; Polyneuropathy; Toxic neuropathy; n-Hexane.