The significance of intravenous immunoglobulin in treatment of immune-mediated polyneuropathies.

Nervenarzt. 2009 Jan 14.

[Article in German]

Stangel M, Hartung HP, Gold R, Kieseier BC.

Klinik für Neurologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Deutschland.

Long-term treatment of immune-mediated polyneuropathies remains difficult. For acute polyneuritis, or Guillain-Barré syndrome, the established standard therapy utilizes high doses of polyvalent intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). A recently published randomized placebo-controlled study of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) showed IVIG to be clinically effective also for this disorder in both short and long term. This survey presents data of this so-called ICE study ("Intravenous immune globulin for the treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy"). It also discusses the value of IVIG in the treatment of immune-mediated polyneuropathies.