Clues to the Pathology from the Tempo of Sensory Symptoms
Speed of progression | Likely cause |
---|---|
Instantaneous maximum deficit | Vascular/stroke, acute compression/trauma |
Seconds | Seizure (especially if stereotyped and recurrent) |
Minutes | Migraine, amyloid spell/attack |
Hours to days | Inflammatory (MS, GBS), infective |
Weeks to months | Tumour, chronic compression |
Months to years | Inherited/genetic, degenerative |