Immunoadsorption in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy with unsatisfactory response to first-line treatment.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: First-line treatment options for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) are corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange. In a significant number of patients, first-line therapy fails, and long-term maintenance treatment still remains a therapeutic challenge. Immunoadsorption (IA) may be an alternative to classical plasma exchange in the therapy of immune-mediated neurologic diseases. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate efficacy and safety of IA in patients with CIDP with unsatisfactory response to first-line treatment options.
METHODS: CIDP patients received adjunct IA treatment using tryptophan-immune adsorbers. The inflammatory neuropathy cause and treatment disability (INCAT) score was used to grade disability and monitor treatment effects.
RESULTS: In total, 14 CIDP patients were analyzed. Ten patients were treated in hospital. After one IA treatment series, the INCAT score decreased significantly in all 10 patients. Four of these 14 patients were treated in outpatient clinics using long-term maintenance IA with 1-2 treatments per week. In these 4 patients, effects of long-term maintenance IA resulted in an improvement of overall disability. In all patients, IA was safe, well tolerated, and no severe adverse effects occurred.
CONCLUSION: IA could be an effective and safe option for CIDP patients with unsatisfactory response to first-line treatment options and for long-term maintenance treatment.