erikaajacksonn asked: I have had Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropthy (CIDP) for four years now. It is an aquired inflammatory disorder of the peripheal nervous system. Suddenly I strained to move my arms, shortly after my legs followed. I receive IViGs about every month and when I asked my doctor how they help me, he couldn't really answer. I was just curious if you could shed some light on the process for me, I would appreciate it :)
I am very sorry to hear that you have CIDP. That must be incredibly difficult… CIDP, as a simple and quick explanation for people who do not know, is where the immune system essentially over-reacts and attacks myelin on neurons. As this person has noted, it definitely affects motor neurons, which rely on myelination for correct and rapid action. Myelin is an insulator of axons that carry information (action potentials) to the next neuron, making the communication faster and possible across long distances (such as from the brain to your feet). When neurons become demyelinated, they are often unable to work properly and so, in the case of motor neurons, they are unable to make your muscles move.
IVIG is Intravenous Immunoglobulin, which is a therapy that can be used for many autoimmune disorders. It is just antibodies (antibodies are proteins used to recognize “bad” things like viruses and bacteria so that the body can identify and remove them) distilled from donated blood used as a treatment. It seems that the exact mechanism is still under debate, which may have been what your doctor was alluding to. Essentially, at the end of the day, IVIG suppresses inflammation and prevents its over-activity. There are pieces of how it works that have been identified, but the exact mechanism isn’t clear. For instance, it may simply be that the addition of more antibodies causes the body to recognize that there are too many and remove those as well as some of the ones that the body had been over-using to attack the myelin. It may also be that some of the IVIG antibodies recognize the abnormal antibodies that you have and prompt their removal. It may even be something else entirely… for instance, there is evidence of some sort of immune complex forming or action on T-cells.
I do hope that this therapy is helping you (the really important result), and I am sorry that I cannot provide more information. Hopefully what little I do know is helpful in some way!
