What's chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy?
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is an acquired, immune-mediated demyelinating polyneuropathy. It typically causes progressive or relapsing, fairly symmetric weakness and sensory loss developing over at least eight weeks, with reduced or absent reflexes. Nerve conduction studies show demyelination, and the cerebrospinal fluid often shows raised protein with a normal cell count (albuminocytologic dissociation). Importantly, unlike inherited neuropathies it responds to immune treatments such as corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange.
| Also indexed as | ORPHA:2932, MONDO:0006702 |
|---|---|
| Features mapped | 17 |
| Treatments mapped | 4 |
| Published sources | 11 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-04 |
Signs and symptoms
Hand muscle weakness
weakness in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is usually symmetric, affecting both the muscles closer to the trunk (proximal) and those further out in the hands and feet (distal), and it is typically accompanied by some loss of sensation.
Segmental peripheral demyelination/remyelination
chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system damages the myelin coating of the peripheral nerves (demyelination), and over time the nerve fibers themselves can be injured (axonal degeneration), which is what produces the progressive weakness and impaired sensation.
Falls
at its more severe end, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy can progress to a complete loss of the ability to walk.
Areflexia
Tendon reflexes (such as the knee-jerk) are reduced or absent, a key sign that the nerves are not conducting normally.
Decreased nerve conduction velocity
Nerve conduction studies, which measure how fast signals travel along nerves, show the slowing typical of demyelination and are central to confirming the diagnosis.
Somatic sensory dysfunction
Sensory symptoms such as numbness and tingling, usually starting in the feet and hands, accompany the weakness and come on gradually.
Peripheral demyelination
The core problem is demyelination: loss of the myelin sheath that normally lets nerves carry signals quickly. In CIDP this is driven by immune cells attacking the myelin.
Paresthesia
sensory symptoms in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy can be mild, such as tingling or pins-and-needles (paresthesia) in the hands and feet, though the condition's overall course varies widely from person to person.
Sensory ataxia
Because CIDP damages the sensory nerves that tell the brain where the limbs are, balance and coordination suffer (sensory ataxia). People may feel unsteady, especially in the dark when they cannot use vision to compensate.
Peripheral neuropathy
CIDP is a disease of the peripheral nerves (the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord). The damage is driven by the immune system rather than by injury or an inherited fault.
Abnormal nerve conduction velocity
a nerve conduction study, which measures how fast and how well electrical signals travel along the nerves, is used to look for evidence that the protective myelin coating of the peripheral nerves is damaged (demyelination), one of the pillars of a chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy diagnosis.
Motor conduction block
the diagnosis of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy rests in part on nerve conduction testing showing that the peripheral nerves are demyelinated, meaning their insulating myelin coating is damaged so signals slow down or are blocked.
Spontaneous pain sensation
alongside weakness, people with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy often have sensory loss, reflecting damage to the sensory nerves as well as the motor nerves.
Gait disturbance
the course of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy varies a great deal between people, from mild tingling in the feet at one end to a complete loss of the ability to walk at the other.
Fatiguable weakness of proximal limb muscles
Muscle weakness is usually symmetric and affects both the muscles close to the trunk (proximal) and those farther out (distal), so people may struggle with stairs, lifting, or grip and develop it gradually over weeks.
Difficulty climbing stairs
the weakness in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy commonly reaches the proximal muscles around the hips and shoulders, the muscles used for tasks like climbing stairs or rising from a chair, and it tends to come on gradually rather than suddenly.
Albumin-cytologic dissociation (elevated CSF protein)
A spinal fluid test is one of the supporting clues for CIDP. The fluid typically shows a high protein level but a normal number of cells, a pattern called albumin-cytologic dissociation, which reflects inflammation of the nerve roots.
How it is diagnosed
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
Diagnosed using: nerve ultrasound.
“…contribution of nerve ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging to…”
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
Diagnosed using: nerve root MRI.
“Odds ratios indicated hypertrophy, hyperintensity, and gadolinium enhancement in CIDP…”
Treatment and management
What the research describes, not a recommendation. Treatment decisions belong with your clinician.
This covers treatments that appear in the published research mapped here. Investigational and experimental therapies are not included, so their absence is a boundary of this map, not a sign they do not exist.
intravenous immunoglobulin
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a first-line treatment. It delivers pooled antibodies that calm the immune attack on the nerves, and many people regain strength with it.
Used to help with: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
“The standard first-line treatments for CIDP include corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and plasma exchange.”
corticosteroids
Corticosteroids are a first-line option that broadly suppress the immune system to reduce nerve inflammation.
Used to help with: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
“The standard first-line treatments for CIDP include corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and plasma exchange.”
plasma exchange
plasma exchange, a procedure that filters antibodies and other immune factors out of the blood, is one of the established treatments for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, used alongside immunoglobulin therapy and steroids.
Used to help with: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
“Treatments include intraveinous immunoglobulins, steroids and plasma…”
subcutaneous immunoglobulin
subcutaneous immunoglobulin, antibody-rich protein given as an injection under the skin rather than into a vein, is recommended as a maintenance option for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy once the condition is under control.
Used to help with: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
“Guidelines for the management of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) recommend corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), or plasma exchange for first-line therapies and subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) as a maintenance…”
How to read the evidence labels
Where this comes from
This guide is built from 11 published source(s). Every claim above links back to one of them. Click any source ID to read the original on PubMed.
Take it further
Printed, source-linked documents built from this condition's graph — ready to bring to an appointment or attach to a coverage request. Every claim carries its published source, the same as this guide.