An autopsy case of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy with respiratory failure.

An 85-year-old Japanese woman presented with progressive symmetrical proximal and distal muscle weakness, numbness in the distal extremities, and sudden onset of hemifacial weakness. The results of laboratory studies fulfilled the American Academy of Neurology criteria for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). She died of respiratory failure after two courses of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, each resulting in transient improvement in strength and sensory symptoms. Autopsy revealed multifocal demyelinative or axonal lesions of varying severity affecting the cranial and peripheral nerves and including the phrenic nerve. These findings suggest that the clinical phenotype of CIDP depend on distribution and severity of the anatomical lesions. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.