Title: Biomarkers of ‘acute-onset’ chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
Abstract: Sir,
We read with great interest the article by Sung et al. (2014) reporting the usefulness of nerve excitability testing in differentiating acute-onset chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (A-CIDP) from acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP). Discriminating the two conditions at an early stage is crucial as treatment options and prognoses differ (Odaka et al. , 2003; Ruts et al. , 2010). Although nerve excitability studies were found to be helpful, this neurophysiological technique is not easily accessible to the average clinician who manages this group of patients. Thus, biomarkers such as serological analyses may prove to be more useful and practical in the assessment of this group of patients. Recently, IgG autoantibodies to contactin 1, a key axo-glial junction molecule, were detected in three patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), all of whom shared similar clinical features of an aggressive form of …