Biomarker Found in CIDP Patients Who Don’t Respond to IVIG Therapy
- By BSTQ Staff
A recent study has discovered a biomarker in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) patients that explains why they don’t respond to intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy. In the study, researchers used immunocytochemical methods to identify antibodies to the paranodal protein neurofascin 155 (NF155) in four of 61 patients with CIDP. All of the patients had disabling (modified Rankin Scale scores of 4), predominantly distal weakness that was refractory to treatment with IVIG. Two of the patients were identified from a local sample of 53 patients with CIDP. The other two patients were from a national pool of eight patients with previously identified CIDP refractory to IVIG. Disabling tremor and ataxia was present in three of the four patients.
Currently, there are no biomarkers that predict response to therapy reliably. While most CIDP patients improve with IVIG, a small subset remain refractory and need other immunosuppressive treatments. Therefore, identifying the antibodies to components of the peripheral nerve associated with specific phenotypes would be an important aid in optimizing treatment. The study was published in the March 11, 2015, issue of Neurology.
