Acquisitions récentes dans le traitement des polyneuropathies dysimmunitaires chroniques

[The use of intravenous immunoglobulins in neurology]

INTRODUCTION

In the past decade, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have been widely used and their administration has grown throughout the world. The current indications of IVIG in neurological diseases are discussed on the basis of the passed and current trials. Unlike other immuomodulatory agents, IVIG are well tolerated and have very few side effects and a good viral safety.

STATE OF ART

There is clinical evidence, based on controlled trials, for the effectiveness of IVIG in Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and multifocal neuropathy with conduction blocks. In myasthenia gravis, the IVIG are effective especially in myasthenic crisis, but their synergistic effect with other treatments, the steroid sparing effect, and their long-term effect are unknown. These issues need to be addressed in further controlled clinical trials. In dermatoploymyositis, IVIG are reserved for steroid resistant patients. There is actually no support or no significant clinical benefit for the routine use of IVIG in other neurological diseases.

PERSPECTIVES

Further controlled trials are warranted to assess the quality of life, the dose-finding effect and their long-term efficacy in order to improve clinical practices.

CONCLUSION

Routine use of IVIG should be reserved for diseases in which positive controlled trials are available. For the remaining dysimmune diseases, IVIG should be assess in comparison with the other available therapies, taking into consideration the age of the patients, the safety of the IVIG and, in our country, the economic aspect.

A review of the medical management of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy

Chronic idiopathic demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare condition, but merits consideration due to its disabling consequences for patients and the growing existence of efficacious therapies during the last few decades. The first step is to characterise this neuropathy among the chronic dysimmune polyneuropathies, according to clinical, electrophysiologicalal and sometimes pathologicalal and immunochemical criteria. Typical CIDP is currently defined by criteria which have progressively improved since the first attempt made by an Ad Hoc Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology in 1991. However, CIDP may be associated with several concurrent diseases, and other chronic demyelinating polyneuropathies may be considered as either subtypes of CIDP, such as sensory CIDP and multifocal acquired sensory and motor neuropathy, or frontiers of CIDP, such as multi-focal motor neuropathy and polyneuropathy associated with monoclonal gammopathy. These considerations are helpful in the choice of treatments, as the response to immunomodulatory agents is different according to the type of the dysimmune neuropathy. CIDP is considered to be an immune-mediated disorder and may respond dramatically to numerous short-term therapies, such as corticosteroids, plasma exchanges, or intravenous immunoglobulin. The aim of this review is both to summarise the main results of the published open and randomised controlled trials for CIDP, and to provide some information about randomised controlled trials currently in progress. The objectives of the current and future trials are firstly, to choose the best regimen for short-term treatments, and secondly, to test new immunosuppressants in long-term therapy, if the neurological condition requires it.