[Frequency and significance of circulating immune complexes in polyradiculoneuritis (author's transl)]

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) were systematically looked for in 27 patients admitted to an intensive care unit for polyradiculoneuritis. The technique used involved precipitation by polyethylene-glycol of complexed immunoglobulins after binding with 125I-Clq. CICs were present in 21 patients. A longitudinal study was performed in 17 of these, including 6 treated by plasmapheresis. The curves obtained since the onset of clinical symptoms suggest diphasic variations in CIC levels during the course of the disease, independently of plasmapheresis. There was no significant correlation between the rise in CIC and complement activation, concomitant viral infection or severity of the neurological condition. In the present state of our knowledge, a possible role of CICs in the genesis of polyradiculoneuritic lesions can neither be confirmed nor excluded.