The treatment of experimental allergic neuritis by plasma exchange.

Experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) is a demyelinating disease of the peripheral nervous system that can be induced in laboratory animals. This disorder has been considered to show many similarities to acute inflammatory polyneuropathy (Guillain-Barré syndrome, GBS). Reports that plasma exchange may benefit patients with GBS prompted the investigation of the effect of plasma exchange in EAN. A controlled study was performed on New Zealand White rabbits. Sixteen animals were allocated to control or treatment groups at the onset of the disease. Clinical assessment on days 7 and 14 showed that treated animals were less severely affected neurologically (P = 0.05, day 7; P less than 0.001 day 14), with a commensurate reduction in the severity of the histological lesions in peripheral nerves.