What causes CIDP?
Current theory holds that the body’s immune system, which normally protects it, perceives myelin as foreign and attacks it. Just what starts this process is not clear. Some patients are found to have abnormal proteins in their blood, and these may facilitate damage.
How is CIDP diagnosed?
Diagnosis of CIDP is based on the symptoms of the patient:
- difficulty walking which progressively worsens over a few months
- tingling or other abnormal sensations may also be experienced
- loss of reflexes, such as the knee and ankle jerk
- an electrical test, a nerve conduction velocity-electromyography study
- a spinal tap, to analyze cerebrospinal fluid
- blood and urine tests, including analysis of proteins