Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP): A Review of Clinical Syndromes and Treatment Approaches in Clinical Practice

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus - treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare disease, but it is one of the most common inflammatory neuropathies in the population. It is particularly common among patients with diabetes mellitus. This raises many problems, both with the differential diagnosis of diabetic and inflammatory neuropathy, as well as the choice of treatment. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is one of the therapeutic options. There is evidence for the effectiveness of IVIG in treating about two-thirds of patients. However, no review has been published to date systematising studies evaluating the response to IVIG treatment in patients with CIDP and coexisting diabetes.

METHODS

The present study is based on the PRISMA statement and is registered at PROSPERO (CRD42022356180). The study included searches of the databases of MEDLINE, ERIC, CINAHL Complete, Academic Search Ultimate and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, finally including seven original papers evaluating a total of 534 patients in the review. The main inclusion criteria were the presence of a group of patients with CIDP and comorbid diabetes in the study.

RESULTS

The systematic review showed a lower efficacy of IVIG treatment among patients with coexisting diabetes compared with idiopathic CIDP (61 % vs 71 %). In addition, the presence of conduction blocks on neurography and shorter disease duration proved to be significant factors improving response to treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Current scientific data do not allow for strong recommendations on the choice of treatment for CIDP. A randomised, multicentre study evaluating the efficacy of different therapeutic approaches to this disease entity needs to be planned.

Monocentric study of 28 cases of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: first Tunisian study

BACKGROUND

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare affection of the peripheral nervous system. Its diagnostic criteria have evolved since 1975. The aim of our work is to study the epidemiological, clinical, and paraclinical aspects of CIDP.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of 28 CIDP patients of the neurology department of the military hospital of Tunis between January 2000 and December 2017. All these patients met the European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society(EFNS/PNS)2010 diagnostic criteria for definite CIDP.

RESULTS

The average age was 50 years with a gender ratio of 1.57. We found sensitivomotor symptoms in 66% of patients. Neurological assessment showed a proximal and distal motor weakness in 50% of cases, the involvement of superficial and deep sensory systems in 44% of patients with a generalized areflexia in all patients. Median Inflammatory Neuropthy Cause and Treatment (INCAT) score was 7. Concerning electrophysiology, all our patients met the EFNS/EPS 2010 diagnostic criteria for a definite CIDP. Screening for concurrent pathologies was positive in 11 patients. On the therapeutic side, there was no superiority of intravenous immunoglobin compared with pulsed methylprednisolone. Oral steroids were used as backup in about 50% of patients. There were good outcomes in 72% of patients who improved very well after treatment.

CONCLUSION

CIDP is a rare and polymorphic disorder with a variety of concurrent pathologies. Our study is the first study in Tunisia and in Maghreb countries which included the most big series of patients. Our results were similar to literature. A multicentral study would be better profitable.

The Noninvasive Diagnostic Value of MRN for CIDP: A Research from Qualitative to Quantitative

STUDY DESIGN

We examined the chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) patients and non-CIDP patients who have similar symptoms and difficult to differential diagnosis with CIDP by magnetic resonance neurography to find the difference among them.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the differential diagnostic value of magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) for CIDP and other peripheral neuropathies.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Thirty-two consecutive patients with CIDP and 22 non-CIDP patients with symptoms similar to CIDP and difficult to be discriminate were recruited and imaged as a control group between May 2017 and May 2019.

METHODS

In this prospective study, the brachial plexus and lumbosacral plexus of 32 CIDP patients and 22 non-CIDP patients were examined by MRN. The clinical features and the nerve roots cross-sectional area (CSA) of the brachial plexus and lumbosacral plexus were measured.

RESULTS

The CSA of nerve roots of CIDP, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type-1 and polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, and skin changes syndrome patients were all shown extensive by MRN. The sensitivity of MRN in diagnosing CIDP was 81.25% (26/32), the specificity was 68.18% (15/22), the positive predictive value was 78.79% (26/33), the negative predictive value was 71.43% (15/21), the accuracy was 75.93% (40/54), the misdiagnosis rate was 24.07% (13/54), and the kappa value was 0.498. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed higher diagnostic accuracy for CIDP with the CSA of the lumbosacral plexus (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.762) and that of the brachial plexus (AUC = 0.762), and the combined of both examinations did not improve the diagnostic efficacy compared with either (AUC = 0.769).

CONCLUSIONS

The nerve roots of CIDP, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type-1, and polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, and skin changes syndrome were difficult to distinguish by MRN. Atypical CIDP patients had less nerve root injury compared with typical CIDP patients. MRN of either the brachial plexus or the lumbosacral plexus had a high diagnostic accuracy for CIDP, and it is not necessary to perform both parts of the examination.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

2.

The comparison of MRN, electrophysiology and progression among typical CIDP and atypical CIDP subtypes

We aimed to compare the electrophysiology and magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) results of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) subtypes and to explore the progression from atypical CIDP to typical CIDP. We collected the medical records of 45 CIDP patients to analyse the rate of progression from atypical CIDP to typical CIDP subtypes. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein (p = 0.024) and overall disability sum score (ODSS) (p = 0.000) differed among patients with typical CIDP, distal acquired demyelinating symmetric neuropathy (DADS) and Lewis-Sumner syndrome (LSS). The compound motor action potential (CMAP) of typical CIDP was lower than that of the other subtypes (p = 0.016, p = 0.022 and p = 0.012). The cross-sectional area (CSA) of nerve roots in typical CIDP was significantly thicker than that of nerve roots in DADS and LSS. There were fewer DADS and LSS patients who progressed to typical CIDP than those who progressed to pure motor and pure sensory CIDP (p = 0.000), and the progression from pure motor to typical CIDP required a significantly longer time than the progression from pure sensory to typical CIDP (p = 0.007). Typical CIDP was more severe than the other subtypes not only in terms of clinical and electrophysiology factors but also in terms of MRN factors.

Diagnostic criteria of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE

The possibility of co-association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) has long been a focus of interest as well as of clinical significance. As CIDP is a potentially treatable condition, it is diagnosis in the context of DM is of great importance. However, diagnostic criteria to identify CIDP in patients with diabetes are not available. We propose a diagnostic tool that should help clinicians to decide what is the probability that a patient with diabetes might have CIDP.

METHODS

We list several clinical, electrophysiological, and laboratory parameters that, when combined, have the power of discriminating an immune-mediated neuropathy in patients with DM. By summing the points assigned to each of these parameters, we define four levels of probability for a patient with diabetes to have CIDP. To analyze the validity of the diagnostic toll, we applied it in three different patient populations: (i) Patients with diabetes with peripheral neuropathy, (ii) Patients with CIDP without DM, and (iii) Patients with diabetes with CIDP.

RESULTS

The scores of patients with diabetes without CIDP ranged from -7 to 2, while those of patients with DM-CIDP ranged from 2 to 20. The scores of non-diabetic patients with CIDP were similar to those of patients with DM-CIDP and ranged from 6 to 16. The mean score of patients with DM-CIDP was 9.083, while the score of patients with CIDP was 11.16 and that of patients with diabetic polyneuropathy was -3.59.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that this diagnostic tool is able to identify patients with diabetes with overlapping CIDP.

Peripheral neuropathy in the elderly

Peripheral neuropathy is an important factor of disability in the elderly, which is significant now that up to 20% of the population is older than 60 years in industrialized countries. Potentially treatable neuropathies including primary inflammatory polyneuropathies and systemic disorders, especially vasculitic neuropathies, are as common in this age group as in younger patients. Neuropathies associated with diabetes, malignancy, and monoclonal gammopathies are even more common in these patients. It is thus essential to identify the causes of these neuropathies in this group of patients and treat them whenever feasible.

Challenges of clinical trial design when there is lack of clinical equipoise: use of a response-conditional crossover design

Clinical equipoise is widely accepted as the basis of ethics in clinical research and requires investigators to be uncertain of the relative therapeutic merits of trial comparators. When clinical equipoise is in question, innovative trial designs are needed to reduce ethical tension while satisfying regulators’ requirements. We report a novel response-conditional crossover study design used in a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of intravenous 10% caprylate-chromatography purified immunoglobulin for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. During the initial 24-week period, patients crossed over to the alternative treatment at the first sign of deterioration or if they failed to improve or were unable to maintain improvement at any time after 6 weeks. This trial design addressed concerns about lack of equipoise raised by physicians interested in trial participation and proved acceptable to regulatory authorities. The trial design may be applicable to other studies where clinical equipoise is in question.

Standard and escalating treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an acquired, immune-mediated polyradiculoneuritis that is progressive or relapsing over a period of at least 8 weeks. Although the exact pathogenesis is unclear, it is thought to be mediated by both cellular and humoral immune reactions directed against the peripheral nerve myelin or axon. CIDP also involves spinal nerve roots. Early medical treatment of CIDP is important to prevent axonal loss. Only three treatment regimens for CIDP have demonstrated benefit in randomized, controlled studies: corticosteroids, plasma exchange, and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg). Approximately 25% of patients respond inadequately to corticosteroids, plasma exchange or IVIg. Large placebo-controlled trials with alternative immunosuppressive compounds, e.g. mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporine, cyclophosphamide, or monoclonal antibodies, are lacking.

Motor variant of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in a child

Only 2 cases of pure motor chronic demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathy in the pediatric age group have been reported in the literature. We report on a motor variant of chronic demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathy with anti-ganglioside antibodies, diagnosed in a 5-year-old girl who presented with progressive motor weakness over a period of 12 months with no sensory involvement. She initially responded partially to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy (1 gm/kg/month for 6 months), and then demonstrated sustained but incomplete improvement on chronic prednisone therapy (1-2 mg/kg/day), on which she has continued since 1 year and 4 months after her initial presentation 3 years ago.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Chronic inflammatory demyelinative polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an acquired neuropathy, presumably of immunological origin. Its clinical presentation and course are extremely variable. CIDP is one of the few peripheral neuropathies amenable to treatment. Typical cases associate progressive or relapsing-remitting motor and sensory deficit with increased CSF protein content and electrophysiological features of demyelination. In other instances the neuropathy is predominantly or exclusively motor or sensory, CSF normal and electrophysiological studies fail to show evidence of demyelination. In such cases conventional diagnostic criteria are not filled yet the patient may respond to immunomodulatory treatments. In this paper we review the diagnostic pitfalls and clinical variants of CIDP to illustrate the problems that may arise. The different therapeutic options are reviewed. Axon loss associated with demyelination is the most important factor of disability and resistance to treatment.

Les neuropathies périphériques : orientations et moyens diagnostiques

PURPOSES

Neuropathies are defined as dysfunction of peripheral nerves, which may show motor, sensory and autonomic symptoms. Although most neuropathies are symmetric, it is important to distinguish a polyneuropathy from a mononeuropathy, a multiple mononeuropathy or a polyradiculoneuropathy. Electrophysiological procedures are helpful in determining the pathological process which may be either an axonopathy, a myelinopathy or a neuronopathy.

MAIN POINTS

Major progresses have been made in the ten past years in the management and diagnostic approaches of peripheral neuropathy. The history and the physical examination are the first steps to the evaluation of patients with peripheral neuropathy. Electrodiagnostic studies and then laboratory tests are the next step in the diagnostic procedures of peripheral neuropathies. These will lead to a proper identification of the cause of neuropathy, allowing to develop a specific treatment for the patient. However, even after a careful work-up of a patient with neuropathy, 25 to 40% of patients with polyneuropathies remain undiagnosed.

PERSPECTIVES

Further development are focused in better understanding the pathogenesis and molecular mechanisms of peripheral nerve diseases in order to provide a specific and adequate treatment for each neuropathy.

Different types of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy have a different clinical course and response to treatment

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) can occur in association with other systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and IgG or IgA monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Whether CIDP that is idiopathic (I-CIDP) or associated with diabetes (CIDP-DM) or MGUS (CIDP-MGUS) differ in clinical presentation, laboratory features, response to treatment, and long-term outcome is unclear, as is the relationship between these coexisting diseases and CIDP. In order to clarify this issue, we began a prospective follow-up study. Thirty-one consecutive patients with untreated CIDP, fulfilling the most restrictive diagnostic criteria, were enrolled over 18 months. Among the patients, 16 were diabetic, 7 had a MGUS, and 8 had an idiopathic CIDP. All patients were treated with IVIg, and the responders were treated again if they relapsed. In all three groups, improvement occurred after treatment. At the end of the follow-up, there was no difference in clinical conditions between groups, but a significant difference existed in the number of relapses and of IVIg administrations. CIDP-DM is a more severe disease, but with a significantly better response to IVIg and fewer relapses, than the other types that we studied.