Treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with intravenous immunoglobulin.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is an immune-mediated demyelinating peripheral neuropathy usually treated with immunosuppressants. We reviewed our experience treating 15 patients (9 men, 6 women) with intravenous immunoglobulin. Six patients were on other therapies at the time of intravenous immunoglobulin infusions (4, prednisone; 2, prednisone and azathioprine). The dose of intravenous immunoglobulin was either 0.3 or 0.4 gm/kg/day for 4 to 5 days. Transient fever occurred in 1 patient. Subjective improvement in sensory symptoms was reported by almost all patients. Objective improvements in strength or functional tasks occurred in only 3 patients, a man with human immunodeficiency virus infection, a 14-year-old girl, and a woman with an immunoglobulin G kappa paraprotein. Our results suggest that individual patients may respond to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. A multicenter controlled trial is needed to assess properly the role of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.