What are the most common causes of acquired autonomic failure?
Chronic and progressive autonomic neuropathy can occur in the setting of a more diffuse peripheral neuropathy such as diabetic neuropathy.
Chronic dysautonomia may occur without sensorimotor neuropathy.
This category is referred to as pure autonomic failure (PAF) and encompasses several disorders with different etiologies including chronic immune-mediated autonomic failure.
Most disorders of autonomic failure with subacute course, defined as less than 3 months from onset to peak deficit, are of autoimmune etiology.
These can be subdivided into dysautonomia associated with acute inflammatory neuropathies such as Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), paraneoplastic autoimmune autonomic neuropathy, or idiopathic autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG).
Acute autonomic neuropathy can be related to toxic, metabolic, or autoimmune causes.
