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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

A randomised clinical trial comparing interferon-alpha and intravenous immunoglobulin in polyneuropathy associated with monoclonal IgM. The IgM-associated Polyneuropathy Study Group.

OBJECTIVES: The polyneuropathy associated with a monoclonal IgM directed to the myelin associated glycoprotein (MAG) is a specific entity with a putative causal link between the IgM and the neuropathy. The small benefit offered by alkylating agents or plasma exchanges in these patients justifies the search for alternative treatments. METHODS: A 12 month multicentre, prospective, randomised, open clinical trial was carried out comparing intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg; 2g/kg and then 1 g/kg every three weeks) and recombinant interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha; 3 MU/m2 subcutaneously three times weekly). The main end point was a clinical neuropathy disability score (CNDS) after six months of treatment. Twenty patients were enrolled; 10 were assigned to IVIg and 10 to IFN-alpha. RESULTS: At six months, one out of 10 patients treated with IVIg had a CNDS improvement of more than 20% whereas eight out of 10 patients treated with IFN-alpha had such an improvement (P=0.005). The mean CNDS worsened by 2.3 (SD 7.6) (8%) in the IVIg group whereas it improved by 7.5 (SD 11.1) (31%) in the IFN-alpha group (P=0.02). This improvement persisted after 12 months and was mainly related to an improvement of the sensory component (P=0.02) whereas the motor component was unchanged (P=0.39). Electrophysiological data did not show improvement of motor nerve conduction velocities whereas sensory nerve conduction velocities improved in the upper limbs. A decrease in the level of the monoclonal IgM was seen in two patients treated with IFN-alpha. At the end of the treatment, antibody activity to MAG was still detected in the serum of all patients. CONCLUSION: IVIg, as used in this study, did not improve patients with polyneuropathy and monoclonal IgM. By contrast, although its mechanism of action remains to be fully elucidated, IFN-alpha was effective in eight out of 10 patients at six months.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Improvement in the polyneuropathy associated with familial amyloid polyneuropathy after liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To study, following liver transplantation, the neurologic progression or regression of the polyneuropathy in a cohort of patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP). BACKGROUND: FAP is characterized by the relentless progression of neurologic and cardiac impairment, leading to death within 7 to 15 years after disease onset. No effective treatment to slow or halt the progression of this disease has been found to date. DESIGN/METHODS: Over the past 3 years, our FAP patients were offered liver transplantation as treatment. We report on nine patients who were followed longitudinally with serial neurologic examinations since transplantation. RESULTS: Clinically, all patients evaluated for neurologic progression reported significant improvement in general well being. No patient showed any progression in neurologic disease since receiving a liver transplant. Improvements are documented in symptomatic, autonomic, and sensorimotor neurologic disease in all patients. CONCLUSION: Our experience suggests that liver transplantation may offer hope for arrest of progression and neurologic improvement in patients with FAP.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Multifocal polyneuropathy with persistent conduction blockage. A new subset of chronic inflammatory polyneuropathies].

Recently a subset of chronic demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathies with asymmetrical involvement limited to upper limbs, at least at the onset, resembling a multifocal mononeuropathy has been described. Electrodiagnostic testing disclosed multifocal CB outside the common entrapment sites has been described. We report a 55 years old man with a 4 years history of paresis, numbness, fasciculations, myokymia, cramps and mild amyotrophy. Electrophysiological evaluation showed proximal multifocal conduction block and abundant spontaneous activity as fasciculations, myokymia and scarce denervation activity. The importance of taking into account this entity in the differential diagnosis of patients with suspected mononeuritis multiplex or motoneuron disease is emphasized. The nosologic place of this entity is also discussed.

Arm↗
PubMed1982

Use of SEPs to localize degeneration in a rare polyneuropathy: studies on polyneuropathy associated with pigmentation, hypertrichosis, edema, and plasma cell dyscrasia.

Peripheral and cental nerve conduction were studied in five patients who had polyneuropathy associated with pigmentation, hypertrichosis, edema, and plasma cell dyscrasia by using the short-latency somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) to electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist. The clavicular component N9 was markedly reduced in amplitude, and its latency was moderately prolonged. The interpeak latency from N9 to the cervical component N13 was significantly prolonged, indicating a conduction delay in the dorsal root. The interpeak latency from N13 to the cortical component N20 was normal, suggesting normal central conduction. These physiological findings were consistent with the pathological findings, which showed degeneration of axons and segmental demyelination and remyelination in the sural nerve and extensive segmental demyelination and remyelination in the dorsal root but normal posterior columns of the spinal cord. SEP is a noninvasive method of localizing the site of axon or myelin disorder in a peripheral neuropathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

[Adie's syndrome and polyneuropathy: apropos of a new case and a case of pupillotonia, polyneuropathy and generalized amyloidosis sparing the nerve].

The association of Adie's syndrome and of neuropathy of chronic evolution is not a frequent occurrence; first made known by Togi in 1967, four cases have been described ever since. The authors report two new observations: one concerns a man showing a unilateral tonic pupil associated to sensory neuropathy, raised C.S.F. protein, rarefaction of myelinated fibres with schwannian proliferation, without amyloid deposit. The other is that of a woman affected with bilateral pupillotonia, motor neuropathy of the four limbs and generalized amylosis. If the first observation is comparable to the five cases reported, the second is more questionable: the absence of amyloid deposit on three nerve biopsies and at the ciliary ganglion level does not absolutely exclude the possibility of amyloid neuropathy.

Adie Syndrome↗
PubMed2001

Chronic polyneuropathies in Vest-Agder, Norway.

Epidemiological data on chronic polyneuropathies, especially inflammatory types, is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the spectrum of causes and estimated prevalence of various polyneuropathy types in Vest-Agder, and to examine the clinical features of the Vest-Agder population of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). In Vest-Agder county (population of 155 464), polyneuropathy patients are registered in a database and followed prospectively. We did a measure of the database on October 31 1999. A total of 192 patients were registered. The prevalence for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) was 7.7 per 100 000 population. The course was relapsing in five of fifteen patients, progressive in four patients and slowly progressive in six of fifteen patients. Two of the fifteen patients had pure sensory symptoms. The mean Rankin disability score was 3.4 at maximal deficit and 2.1 at last follow-up. The prevalence of paraproteinemic polyneuropathy was 5.1 per 100 000 population. None of the patients with paraproteinemic polyneuropathy were worse than slightly disabled (disability score < or = 2). The prevalences for other polyneuropathies were as follows: polyneuropathy and RA, 1.3; polyneuropathy and Sjögren's syndrome or sicca complex, 4.5 (polyneuropathy was the presenting symptom in five of seven patients); sarcoidosis 1.9; polyneuropathy and chronic Lyme, 0.6; paraneoplastic polyneuropathy, 1.9; diabetic polyneuropathy 23.2; vitamin deficiency, 5.1; alcoholic and toxic polyneuropathy, 19.9; hereditary polyneuropathy, 14.8. Cryptogenic polyneuropathies made up 26% of all polyneuropathies. The mean disability score was 2.0 (SD 1.1). In conclusion, prevalence of CIDP was significantly higher than previously reported, and the prognosis was good in the majority of patients. Patients with paraproteinemic polyneuropathy were not severely disabled. Polyneuropathy was the presenting symptom in the majority of patients with Sjögren's syndrome or sicca complex.

Adolescent↗