Rituximab in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy associated with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The authors report a 57-year-old patient with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) who was treated successfully with rituximab. The B lymphocyte suppression using rituximab was followed 4 weeks later by neurological improvement and a stable disease course of over 10 months. We suggest that rituximab may be a treatment option in CIDP increasingly less responsive to intravenous immunoglobulin, particularly in patients with concurrent DM.