A critical approach to therapeutic apheresis in the management of inflammatory dysimmune polyneuropathies

Data concerning 37 patients with inflammatory dysimmune polyneuropathy treated by discontinuous flow centrifugation, membrane plasma separation and cascade filtration are presented. Plasmapheresis was combined with immunosuppressants in patients with chronic or relapsing neuropathy (8 patients), cryoglobulinemic (6 patients) and paraneoplastic disease (2 patients), whereas 21 patients with acute Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) underwent exclusively plasmapheresis. Most patients were treated during the onset or progression of their disease and excellent or satisfactory clinical results were obtained in 18 patients with GBS, 6 with cryoglobulinemia, 2 with paraneoplastic disease and 4 with chronic relapsing polyneuropathy. Prior to therapy, 34 patients had high levels of immune complexes (CIC); this level was clearly reduced by plasmapheresis and clinical results correlated well with this removal. 3 patients with chronic dysimmune polyneuropathy, without any evidence of CIC, were completely unaffected by treatment. The possible role of CIC in demyelinating polyneuropathies is discussed on the basis of information given by cascade filtration treatment of 7 patients.