PLASMA-EXCHANGE IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DEMYELINATING POLYRADICULONEUROPATHY - DIFFERENT BENEFICIAL-EFFECTS AND THEIR CORRELATION TO THE CLINICAL-FEATURES

We report 7 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradic uloneuropathy (CIDP) who showed significant clinical improvement by pl asma exchange (PE), Their clinical features were extensively varied bu t fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for CIDP, The patients could be di vided into 2 subgroups based on the mode of effectiveness of PE; one g roup consisted of those who once achieved complete remission, but requ ired highly frequent PEs for long-term maintenance of remission and th e others were those who showed persistent and complete remission with several sessions of PE alone, These findings raise issues about the lo ng-term therapeutic goals to be achieved by PE for CIDP patients, part icularly on supportive therapy other than PE, as well as the optimizat ion of frequency and duration of PE.