[Treatment of chronic inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy]

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a dys-immune neuropathy which differs from Guillain-Barré syndrome by a relapsing or progressive course of at least 2-month duration, and a beneficial response to steroid. In addition to the traditional manifestation with symmetrical deficit affecting the four members, there are many clinical types, which share common electrophysiological abnormalities suggestive of multifocal demyelination. Although short-term efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been demonstrated in randomized-controlled trials, little information was available on the effects of long-term therapy in CIDP. In a recent study, IVIG have been found to be effective and safe over long-term maintenance therapy for CIDP.