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UNMYELINATED NERVE FIBER DEGENERATION IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DEMYELINATING POLYNEUROPATHY
Author(s) -
Bosboom Wmj,
Dieks Hjg,
Plante E,
Veldman H,
Franssen H,
Wokke Jhj
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of the peripheral nervous system
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1529-8027
pISSN - 1085-9489
DOI - 10.1111/j.1529-8027.2000.22-29.x
Subject(s) - chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy , sural nerve , myelin , medicine , pathology , schwann cell , nerve fiber , nerve biopsy , axon , polyneuropathy , anatomy , peripheral neuropathy , central nervous system , endocrinology , antibody , immunology , diabetes mellitus
To determine whether unmyelinated nerve fibers escape degeneration as one might expect in an immune response exclusively directed at myelin, we performed a morphometric examination of unmyelinated axons and myelinated nerve fibers in sural nerve biopsy specimens of 14 patients with a chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and of 12 age‐matched normal controls. The numbers of unmyelinated axons, myelinated nerve fibers, denervated Schwann cell units and collagen pockets were quantified and related to the clinical and electrophysiological data of the patients with CIDP. In 4 patients with a rapid onset of the neuropathy and a highly elevated CSF protein, the numbers of both unmyelinated axons and myelinated nerve fibers were decreased equally. In 8 patients we found that the unmyelinated axons were relatively spared compared with the loss of myelinated nerve fibers. In these patients, however, the presence of denervated Schwann cell units and of collagen pockets was increased. We conclude that unmyelinated nerve fibers are affected in patients with CIDP.