Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)

Nerve conduction studies showing conduction block

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a form of nerve disease or peripheral neuropathy.  The disease can often be difficult to diagnose and can begin in many ways. Some patients experience numbness which spreads and becomes more intense over days to weeks. Other patients develop weakness which also progresses. In some cases the weakness can be so severe as to require hospitalization. The key feature is that the neurologic symptoms progresses over days to weeks.

The diagnosis of CIDP is most commonly made by a neurologist. The tests required for the diagnosis usually involve EMG/NCS to study the way in which the nerves are functioning. A spinal tap if often performed and in some cases a muscle and nerve biopsy is required.  This disease seems to be more common in patients with diabetes and therefore anyone with diabetes who has symptoms of a neuropathy which are progressing quickly should be evaluated by  a neurologist with expertise in neuromuscular diseases.