PARANEOPLASTIC VASCULITIC NEUROPATHY - IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ONA BIOPSIED NERVE AND POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION

We studied a patient with paraneoplastic vasculitic neuropathy (PVN) a ssociated with a carcinoma of the common bile duct, Immunohistochemica l analy-sis of the biopsied sural nerve showed that the cellular infil trates in the vascular lesions were composed primarily of CD8-positive T lymphocytes and macrophages. Pathogenic significance of the T-cell- mediated immunological reaction was suggested. Post-mortem examination revealed the absence of systemic vasculitis, which may be a character istic feature of PVN. The patient responded to immuno-suppressive trea tment. We discuss the efficacy and the risk of immunosuppressive thera py for PVN.