Treatment of Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy
Early treatment to prevent loss
of nerve axons in this rare autoimmune disease is recommended. Of course this is only possible if
diagnosed early enough in disease course.
After treatment many people have a complete recovery and others have
remaining numbness, weakness, tremors and fatigue which can lead to
long-term poor health.
There are a variety of treatments for CIDP:
IVIG and plasmapheresis have been proven to benefit CIDP sufferers in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.
Treatment text here published for CIDP is written by Per-Ola Kessman and Hakan Andersson.
First line of treatment options for CIDP consists of three different types of anti-inflammatory therapies, steroids in tablet and / or tear-shaped, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the drip and blood exchange (plasmapheresis). These three treatment options are tried and tested and considered to give equivalent results, at least in the short term.
Treatment with plasmapheresis is now offered primarily for limited short periods associated with relapse if treatment with corticosteroids and IVIG are found to be effective.
The outcome and safety profile of the three types of treatment varies among individuals, so it comes to try out the type of treatment that fits each person with CIDP best.
Treatment with one or some of the above therapies in combination, usually result in a temporary and transient improvement in CIDP, which is why immunotherapy in these forms need to be sustained on a continuous basis. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for people with CIDP to, over time, experience diminishing treatment effect and continued disease progression. In these cases, a concomitant therapy with anti-inflammatory chemotherapy is necessary to achieve long-term stabilization of CIDP symptoms. Selection of exactly what form of chemotherapy to be added to the treatment is done on a individual basis and after careful consideration of risk and profit.
It is likely, but currently unclear if the early initiation of chemotherapy in parallel with the initiation of immunotherapy with corticosteroids and / or IVIG may improve long-term prognosis of CIDP. Future treatment studies with newer generation chemotherapy suffer from fewer side effects, compared to the current ones, will determine if early adjunctive treatment with chemotherapy should be recommended for CIDP.
Material has been developed by neurologists and other specialists and translated into English.
