Idiopathic neurotrophic feet in Blacks: a pathological study.

The pathological findings in tissues obtained from 6 patients with idiopathic neurotrophic feet are described. The salient features were those of a neuropathy characterized by gross demyelinization and marked changes in the distal blood vessels. The vascular changes included medial and intimal hypertrophy with luminal narrowing. It is proposed that both the neural and the vascular changes were secondary to chronic alcoholism.