Clinical manifestations of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with anti-cardiolipin antibodies.
OBJECTIVE
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an autoimmune syndrome where certain autoantibodies define clinicopathologic subgroups. In the present study, serum anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL) were evaluated.


METHODS
We investigated aCL in sera from 21 patients diagnosed with CIDP in our hospital between 1991 and 2001. The four CIDP patients with aCL (aCL+) were compared with 17 patients without aCL (aCL-).


RESULTS
All aCL+ patients displayed sensory-motor polyneuropathy, with severity and distribution of weakness resembling those in aCL- patients. Anti-nuclear antibody titer of aCL+ patients were significantly higher than those in aCL- patients. None of aCL+ patients presented clinical manifestations of primary anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS), such as thromboses or recurrent abortion. Although the aCL+ patients were older and had more complications and more severe pathologic features than aCL- patients, they responded well to steroid pulse or intravenous immunoglobulin.


CONCLUSIONS
The aCL in CIDP apparently differ from 'autoimmune' aCL in APS, instead being among the autoantibodies pathologically involved in CIDP subgroups.
Nakajima
H
H
Division of Neurology, First Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan. in1045@poh.osaka-med.ac.jp
Shinoda
K
K
Doi
Y
Y
Tagami
M
M
Furutama
D
D
Sugino
M
M
Kimura
F
F
Hanafusa
T
T
D000328:Adult; D017153:Antibodies, Anticardiolipin / Q000097:blood*; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020277:Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D017153:Antibodies, Anticardiolipin