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What is peripheral neuropathy?
Peripheral neuropathy is damage to the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, and there are more than 100 types. It most often starts in the feet and hands, with numbness, tingling, burning or shooting pain, weakness, and loss of balance, and some forms affect nerves that control digestion, blood pressure, or bladder function. In the US the leading cause is diabetes; others include chemotherapy, vitamin B12 deficiency, heavy alcohol use, autoimmune disease, infections such as HIV and shingles, kidney failure, and inherited conditions, the most common being Charcot Marie Tooth disease. Treatment targets the cause where possible, controlling blood sugar, correcting deficiencies, or adjusting chemotherapy, and manages pain with specific medicines, topical treatments, and nerve stimulation. Long lasting nerve pain is also covered on our chronic pain page.
Diabetes is the leading cause; see type 2 diabetes clinical trials. Nerve pain overlaps with chronic pain, and device studies are on our medical device clinical trials page.
Types of neuropathy clinical trials
Diabetic neuropathy trials. New pain medicines, nerve stimulation devices, and studies of whether tighter metabolic control protects nerves.
Chemotherapy induced neuropathy trials. Cooling and compression during chemotherapy to prevent damage, and treatments once it occurs.
Neuromodulation trials. Brain and nerve stimulation, including non invasive methods, for neuropathic pain.
Balance and mobility devices. Wearable sensors and other devices that reduce falls in people who have lost sensation in their feet.
Neuropathy from other causes. Studies in HIV associated, inherited, and autoimmune neuropathies.
Who can participate in neuropathy clinical trials?
Most trials enroll adults with neuropathy from a specific cause, diabetes, chemotherapy, HIV, or an inherited condition, confirmed by a clinician and sometimes nerve testing. Pain trials usually require pain of a set intensity for several months and stable doses of current pain medicines; prevention trials for chemotherapy neuropathy enroll people before or during specific chemotherapy. Eligibility always varies by study.
Can neuropathy be reversed?
Sometimes, depending on the cause. Neuropathy from vitamin deficiency, alcohol, some medicines, or chemotherapy can improve after the cause is removed, because peripheral nerves can slowly regrow. Diabetic neuropathy is usually managed rather than reversed, though good blood sugar control can slow it.
Types of neuropathy, and why they matter for trials
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The most common type; trials focus on pain, balance, and nerve protection.
Chemotherapy induced neuropathy. Caused by certain cancer drugs; trials test prevention during treatment and relief afterward.
Autoimmune and inflammatory neuropathies. Such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy; trials test immune treatments.
Inherited neuropathies. Such as Charcot Marie Tooth disease; mostly natural history and early gene based studies.
Do neuropathy trial participants get paid?
Some studies offer compensation for time and travel, and study related care is typically provided at no cost to participants. Compensation varies by trial and is always described during the informed consent process before you agree to anything.
Curious whether clinical trials pay participants? Here's how compensation actually works.
How to enroll in a neuropathy clinical trial
Identify your trial. Use the filters and match the stage or type and the treatment history named in study titles to your own.
Select your preferred location. Enter your city or state; large trials run at many sites, early phase studies at fewer centers.
Explore study details. Click "Learn More" for eligibility, prior treatment rules, and the visit schedule.
Complete the health profile. Click "Get started" to begin the 5-step application. Have three things ready: the cause of your neuropathy if known, how long you have had symptoms and how severe the pain is, and the medicines you take for it.
Submit the application. A clinical trial coordinator reviews it and contacts you. Nothing is decided until informed consent, and participation is voluntary at every step.