A woman in her 70s presented with numbness, pain and weakness. She first noticed numbness, pain, and weakness in feet. Symptoms progressed to thighs over several days and she became non-ambulatory. Later she developed numbness, pain, and weakness in hands, alongside achy pain in both thighs and upper arms. Physical examination showed diffuse areflexia, symmetric distal more than proximal weakness as well as glove-stocking distribution sensory loss. Lab was significant for elevated creatine kinase (CK), aldolase, creatinine, and positive anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibodies.
Renal biopsy showed necrotizing arteritis consistent with AAV. The EDX testing confirmed severe length-dependent sensorimotor axonal polyneuropathy with superimposed non-irritable myopathy. Treatment with IVIG and steroids facilitated a gradual improvement in both strength and sensation.