brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)
Introduction
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is a form of polyneuropathy that, like Guillain-Barré syndrome, causes increasing muscle weakness, but the weakness progresses for more than 8 weeks. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction that damages the myelin sheath around nerves. In this disorder, weakness worsens continually over a period of more than 8 weeks. Electromyography, nerve conduction studies, and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid can help confirm the diagnosis. Treatment may include corticosteroids, drugs that inhibit the immune system, and sometimes immune globulin and plasma exchange. (See also Overview of the Peripheral Nervous System .) Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy develops in 3 to 10% of people with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) . Like Guillain-Barré syndrome, it is a As in Guillain-Barré syndrome, an Autoimmune Disorders , is thought to be involved. The body's immune system attacks the myelin sheath, which surrounds the nerve and enables nerve impulses to travel quickly. Most nerve fibers inside and outside the brain are wrapped with many layers of tissue composed of a fat (lipoprotein) called myelin. These layers form the myelin sheath. Much like the insulation around an electrical wire, the myelin sheath enables nerve signals (electrical impulses) to be conducted along the nerve fiber with speed and accuracy. When the myelin sheath is damaged (called demyelination), nerves do not conduct electrical impulses normally. 