By: Kathy Hubbard
Other than it’s an autoimmune disease that I have never written about, and that it’s Autoimmune Awareness Month, I can’t tell you why I put chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) on my subject list. I can tell you that I can’t pronounce it. And I can tell you that it’s rare.
Cleveland Clinic’s website says that “researchers believe CIDP happens because of issues with your immune system. For unknown reasons, your immune system sees myelin as dangerous and attacks it.
“The myelin sheath is the protective layer around your nerve cells. It wraps around the nerve axon — the long, wire-like part of a nerve cell. Myelin allows electrical impulses to efficiently travel along your nerves. When myelin is damaged or removed, it slows down or loses these electrical impulses. And the ‘messages’ may never reach their intended destination. This causes the symptoms of CIDP.”
Experts think that CIDP is related to the more commonly known disease Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The difference is that GBS is typically a short term (acute) disease, while CIDP is a long-term (chronic) disease. Unlike GBS, there typically isn’t an infection prior to CIDP, nor does there seem to be a genetic link.
Shiningthroughcidp.com says that there are different types of CIDP. They all affect the arms and legs, but the symptoms vary. In Typical CIDP there is symmetrical muscle weakness and sensory loss affecting both the arms and legs.
“Distal CIDP causes muscle weakness and sensory loss primarily in the legs. Multifocal CIDP causes muscle weakness and sensory loss asymmetrically affecting primarily the arms. Focal CIDP causes muscle weakness and sensory loss in only one arm or leg. Motor CIDP causes muscle weakness without sensory symptoms, and Sensory CIDP causes sensory loss without motor symptoms,” they explain.
Cleveland Clinic says that symptoms can vary based on the type. “But the most common symptom is muscle weakness that gets worse over at least eight weeks. It typically affects the muscles in the hips and thighs, shoulders and upper arms, or hands and feet, equally on both sides of your body.”
Other symptoms may include loss of muscle mass, tingling, prickliness or numbness in the fingers and toes; difficulties with balance and coordination; loss of mobility; loss or weakening of deep tendon reflexes, or neuropathic pain. In rare cases one might have difficulty swallowing and/or double vision.
“These symptoms may change in severity over time. They may come on slowly or rapidly and sometimes come and go over time. If you develop symptoms of CIDP, see your healthcare provider as soon as possible. Early diagnosis and treatment are key to recovery,” Cleveland says.
Hopkins Medicine tells us that CIDP can occur in anyone. “But people in their 50s and 60s seem more likely to develop it than people in other age groups. Men are twice as likely as women to get the disease.”
Because the disease is rare, it’s often hard to diagnose. “After taking a medical history and doing a physical and neurological exam, a healthcare provider may do two or more tests to confirm a diagnosis,” they say. “These may include blood and urine tests; a nerve conduction study and an electromyogram to look for myelin damage in peripheral nerves; a lumbar puncture to see if levels of certain proteins related to the disease are higher than normal; a nerve biopsy to look at microscopic changes in the nerves, or an MRI may show inflammation of the nerve roots.”
I can’t say this often enough. Getting an early diagnosis is of the utmost importance. Starting early treatment, which may include medications and therapies, can give a patient the best chance at limiting symptoms and keeping this condition under control.
“Without treatment for CIDP, symptoms will likely get worse over the course of several years. These can range from sensory symptoms to weakness and loss of balance. Without treatment, one in three people with CIDP will need a wheelchair,” Hopkins says.
You might ask how rare this disease is, and that’s a good question. Although it is still categorized as being rare, the incidents of CIDP are growing each year, possibly because of better diagnostics, and maybe because the most common comorbidity is diabetes mellitus. Hmmm.
Kathy Hubbard was a charter member of Bonner General Health Foundation. She can be reached at [email protected]. This article was written for publication in the Bonner County Daily Bee on March 12, 2026.