Recently, epidemiological studies on the etiology of
peripheral neuropathies have revealed that
hyperlipidemia is a novel risk factor. Plasma
lipid levels were confirmed to be associated with the incidence of many
peripheral neuropathies including axonal distal
polyneuropathy,
vision and hearing loss, motor nerve system lesions and sympathetic nerve system dysfunction. Moreover, different
lipid components such as
cholesterol,
triacylglycerols and
lipoprotein are involved in the pathogenesis of these neuropathies. This review aimed to discuss the effect of
hyperlipidemia on the peripheral nervous system and its association with
peripheral neuropathies. Furthermore, a detailed discussion focusing on the explicit mechanisms related to
hyperlipidemia-induced
peripheral neuropathies is presented here. These mechanisms, including intracellular oxidative stress, inflammatory lesions,
ischemia and dysregulation of local lipid metabolism, share pathways and interact mutually. In addition, we examined current information on clinical trials to prevent and treat
peripheral neuropathies caused by
hyperlipidemia, with a predictive discussion regarding the orientation of future investigations.