Sarcoid peripheral neuropathy

We studied 10 patients with sarcoidosis and peripheral neuropathy. Six had a subacute or chronic axonal sensorimotor neuropathy without cranial neuropathy, beginning months to years after established systemic sarcoidosis. One patient had severe enough diaphragmatic weakness to require mechanical ventilation. Four patients had atypical neuropathies: acute Guillain-Barré syndrome, mononeuritis multiplex, unilateral lumbosacral plexopathy, and a purely sensory neuropathy, all before systemic sarcoidosis became evident, and all except one had cranial nerve abnormalities. Autopsy in one patient with sensorimotor neuropathy showed only scattered foci of lymphocytes in spinal roots and ganglia with nerve fiber loss.