Objective: Identification and examination of all patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) in the Netherlands to document the clinical spectrum and response to IV immunoglobulin (IVIg) and to... Show moreObjective: Identification and examination of all patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) in the Netherlands to document the clinical spectrum and response to IV immunoglobulin (IVIg) and to determine correlates of outcome. Methods: A national cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. Ninety-seven patients were identified; 88 participated. Logistic regression analysis was used to study determinants of outcome. Results: Age at onset was younger in men than in women (38 vs 45 years, p = 0.05). Onset of weakness was in distal arm (61%) or distal leg (34%), and occasionally in the upper arm (5%). Initial diagnosis was motor neuron disease in one-third of patients. Brisk, but not pathologic, reflexes in weakened muscles were found in 8%. Conduction blocks were most frequently detected in the ulnar (80%) and median (77%) nerves, but occasionally only between Erb and axilla (6%), or in the musculocutaneous nerve (1%). Ninety-four percent responded to IVIg therapy: nonresponders had longer disease duration before the first treatment (p = 0.03). Seventy-six percent received IVIg maintenance treatment at the time of this study (median duration 6 years; range 0-17): the median dose increased over the years from 12 to 17 g per week (p < 0.01). Independent determinants of more severe weakness and disability were axon loss (p < 0.001; p < 0.0001) and longer disease duration without IVIg (p = 0.03; p = 0.07). Conclusion: The results of this study may help aid recognition the clinical picture of MMN. Early IVIg treatment may help to postpone axonal degeneration and permanent deficits. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class IV evidence that IVIg improves muscle strength of patients with MMN and disability (defined as an increase of >= 1 Medical Research Council grade in at least 2 muscle groups without decrease in other muscle groups) in 94% (95% confidence interval, 86.8%-97.4%) of patients. Neurology (R) 2010;75:818-825 Show less
Schaik, I.N. van; Eftimov, F.; Doorn, P.A. van; Brusse, E.; Berg, L.H. van den; Pol, W.L. van der; ... ; Vermeulen, M. 2010
Background Pulsed high-dose dexamethasone induced long-lasting remission in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) in a pilot study. The PREDICT study aimed... Show moreBackground Pulsed high-dose dexamethasone induced long-lasting remission in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) in a pilot study. The PREDICT study aimed to compare remission rates in patients with CIDP treated with high-dose dexamethasone with rates in patients treated with standard oral prednisolone. Methods In eight neuromuscular centres in the Netherlands and one in the UK, patients aged 18 years or older who had newly diagnosed definite or probable CIDP were randomly assigned to a treatment regimen of either pulsed high-dose dexamethasone or standard oral prednisolone. Randomisation was done with a random number generator. The primary outcome measure was remission at 12 months, defined as improvement of at least three points on the Rivermead mobility index and improvement of at least one point on the inflammatory neuropathy cause and treatment disability scale. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials, number ISRCTN07779236. Findings Between December, 2003, and December, 2008, 40 patients were treated: 24 received dexamethasone and 16 received prednisolone. At 12 months, 16 patients were in remission: ten in the dexamethasone group and six in the prednisolone group (odds ratio [OR] 1-2, 95% CI 0.3-4-4). Most adverse events were minor and did not differ substantially between treatment groups; however, sleeplessness and Cushing's face occurred more often in the prednisolone group. Interpretation Pulsed high-dose dexamethasone treatment did not induce remission more often than prednisolone treatment. A substantial proportion of patients were in remission at 12 months in both treatment groups. High-dose dexamethasone could be considered as induction therapy in CIDP, but comparison with intravenous immunoglobulin treatment is needed. Show less
