[Treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)]

Fifty patients with CIDP were treated with cortico-steroids (CS), plasmapheresis (PP) and human immunoglobulin (IG). Objective improvements in strength and in nerve conduction occurred in 53% of the patients after CS. In 50% of the non-responders to CS showed objective improvements after PP, and 40% of them responded to IG. Complete remission was achieved in only one patient. Around 15% of the patients showed poor response to any treatments. Azathioprine combined with CS induced little objective improvements.