Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2017
Multicenter StudyIntravenous immunoglobulin for maintenance treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: a multicentre, open-label, 52-week phase III trial.
Short-term efficacy of induction therapy with intravenous immunoglobulin (Ig) in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is well established. However, data of previous studies on maintenance therapy were limited up to 24-week treatment period. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of longer-term intravenous Ig therapy for 52 weeks. ⋯ Maintenance treatment with 1.0 g/kg intravenous Ig every 3 weeks is an efficacious therapy for patients with CIDP, and approximately 70% of them had a sustained remission for 52 weeks. Thrombotic complications should be carefully monitored, particularly in elderly patients with vascular risk factors.