How To Diagnose And Treat Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)

Plasmapheresis

Plasmapheresis is a treatment method where the patient's blood is removed from the body and plasma is separated from the rest of the blood inside of a specialized machine. The plasma portion of the blood is replaced with a mixture of saline and albumin before it is mixed with the rest of the blood and sent back into the patient's body. The mechanism of this type of blood filtering is similar to what occurs with dialysis. The objective of this treatment is to remove the components of the blood responsible for eliciting the inappropriate attack on the healthy myelin sheathing. Numerous different types of autoantibodies are implicated in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. The most common autoantibodies identified in affected individuals include antibodies against peripheral myelin protein two or PMP2, peripheral myelin protein 22 or PMP22, and myelin protein zero or MPZ. The regular removal of these antibodies from an affected individual's blood via plasmapheresis can help alleviate symptoms of CIDP.

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