Burning feet syndrome, also known as Grierson-Gopalan syndrome, is a medical condition that causes severe burning and aching of the feet,

hyperesthesia Hyperesthesia is a condition that involves an abnormal increase in sensitivity to stimuli of the senses. Stimuli of the senses can include sound that one hears, foods that one tastes, textures that one feels, and so forth. Increased touch sensi ...

, and

vasomotor Vasomotor refers to actions upon a blood vessel which alter its diameter. More specifically, it can refer to vasodilator action and vasoconstrictor action. Control Sympathetic innervation Sympathetic nerve fibers travel around the tunica media ...

changes of the feet that lead to excessive

sweating Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distributed over much of the ...

. It can even affect the eyes, causing

scotoma A scotoma is an area of partial alteration in the field of vision consisting of a partially diminished or entirely degenerated visual acuity that is surrounded by a field of normal – or relatively well-preserved – vision. Every normal mamm ...

and

amblyopia Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is a disorder of sight in which the brain fails to fully process input from one eye and over time favors the other eye. It results in decreased vision in an eye that typically appears normal in other aspects. Amb ...

. The condition occurs more frequently in women, and usually manifests itself when a person is between twenty and forty years old.

Presentation

The burning heat is usually limited to the soles of the feet, but may extend up to the ankles or lower legs of some patients. The burning can sometimes be accompanied by feelings of '

pins and needles Paresthesia is a sensation of the skin that may feel like numbness (''hypoesthesia''), tingling, pricking, chilling, or burning. It can be temporary or chronic and has many possible underlying causes. Paresthesia is usually painless and can oc ...

' or tingling in these regions. Nighttime is when almost all people with this syndrome report the heat symptoms being the worst, with the condition getting better as morning comes. Those who have

psychosomatic Somatic symptom disorder, also known as somatoform disorder or somatization disorder, is chronic somatization. One or more chronic physical symptoms coincide with excessive and maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors connected to those symp ...

disorders sometimes display psychological symptoms along with the burning of feet associated with the syndrome. For most, there is no redness of the skin of their feet during the heat sensations, and almost never is there accompanying tenderness along with it.

Causes

Burning feet syndrome can be inherited, or it can be caused by pressure being put on the

nerves A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses called ...

. Links also exist between this syndrome and diseases such as

hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as cold intolerance, poor ability to tolerate cold, fatigue, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, co ...

diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

, and

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

; links are also believed to exist between this syndrome and Zinc deficiency. It is also linked to

vitamin B B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referred to as a vita ...

(specifically

pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is a B vitamin and an essential nutrient. All animals need pantothenic acid in order to synthesize coenzyme A (CoA), which is essential for cellular energy production and for the synthesis and degradation of prote ...

) deficiencies and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

. It is suspected to be related to or a small fiber neuropathy.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is mainly clinical. Symptoms are burning sensation in soles, sometime ankles and legs in many patients. Tingling sensation and pin prick sensations are also common. Sweating of legs and soles is seen. In some case hypertrophy of one of the legs is seen mainly in tropical region where external temperature is also higher.

Eponym

Termed ''Grierson-Gopalan syndrome'' after Coluthur Gopalan and J. Grierson.C. Gopalan. The "burning feet syndrome." Indian Medical Gazette, Calcutta, 1946, 81: 22-26. Journal of the American Medical Association, Chicago, 1946, 131: 1177.

References

External links