Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP): Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Health ConditionsAutoimmune Diseases

What Is Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP)?

What Is Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP)?
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Published on February 23, 2026
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Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), an autoimmune condition, damages the protective layer (myelin sheath) around your nerves. This leaves your nerves themselves open to damage, which can cause weakness and sensations like tingling or numbness. Treatment typically involves fighting inflammation and suppressing the immune system to protect the nerves.

Depending on the age at which your symptoms started, your CIDP type, and how fast you received a diagnosis and started treatment, you can treat and sometimes cure this condition. Up to 90 percent of people with CIDP see improvement with treatment, and almost 40 percent reach a point where they have no more symptoms.

Types of CIDP

Experts categorize CIDP into different variants (types), depending on what kinds of symptoms you experience. Types of CIDP include:

  • Typical CIDP, the most common type, causes muscle weakness and sensation changes that affect both sides of your body equally.
  • Multifocal motor neuropathy causes asymmetric muscle weakness (affecting one side of your body more than the other).
  • Lewis-Sumner syndrome causes asymmetric muscle weakness and sensation changes
  • Pure sensory CIDP causes numbness, pain, and trouble with walking and balance, but does not cause muscle weakness.
  • Pure motor CIDP causes symmetric muscle weakness but no sensation changes
  • Distal acquired demyelinating symmetric (DADS) neuropathy causes sensation changes in the hands and feet, but rarely the arms and legs.
  • Proximal radiculopathy causes sensation changes in the arms and legs, but not the feet or hands.
Illustrative graphic titled How CIDP Affects the Body shows Muscle Weakness Muscle Loss Tingling or Numbness Balance Problems Trouble Walking Nerve Pain Poor Reflexes Tremors. Everyday Health logo.
Everyday Health

Signs and Symptoms of CIDP

CIDP symptoms progress slowly over two months or more, and can also return months or years after they resolve. Signs and symptoms of CIDP include:

  • Muscle weakness in both hips, thighs, shoulders, upper arms, hands, and feet
  • Decreased muscle mass
  • Paresthesia (tingling and numbness) in fingers and toes
  • Poor balance and coordination
  • Difficulty walking, changing positions, or lifting
  • Less fine motor ability (like doing up buttons)
  • Inability to lift the front of your foot (footdrop)
  • Facial muscle weakness or paralysis
  • Extreme sensitivity to touch (allodynia)
  • Weaker reflexes
  • Nerve pain
  • Tremors
Rare severe symptoms include trouble swallowing (dysphagia), weakness above the neck, and double vision.

Causes and Risk Factors of CIDP

Experts don’t know the exact cause of CIDP, but they believe it happens because of an immune system overreaction: a type of autoimmune attack against healthy nerves. This attack causes inflammation around your nerves, which damages a protective layer called the myelin sheath (demyelination).

Once this layer gets damaged or destroyed, your nerves can’t function like they should, which describes the “polyneuropathy” part of CIDP and causes the symptoms above.

 In some variants of CIDP, researchers have found specific antibodies like neurofascin 155 and contactin 1 that attack the nerves, but other types have no known antibodies to blame.

Risk factors for CIDP also remain a mystery, although some studies have found that people develop the condition after respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. CIDP may also share a connection with getting older and with conditions like lupus, HIV, and hepatitis B or C.

Getting treatment early can help prevent long-term disability. If you experience common CIDP symptoms, tell your healthcare provider so they can offer a diagnosis and get treatment started as soon as possible.

How Is CIDP Diagnosed?

Diagnosing CIDP is complicated and difficult, especially because different types cause differing and confusing symptoms.

 To receive a CIDP diagnosis, your healthcare provider will need to show you have had worsening or recurring weakness and sensory changes in at least two limbs for two months or longer, plus weak reflexes.

To rule out other conditions, your provider may order these blood tests:

  • Fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) to rule out diabetes
  • Calcium levels
  • Creatinine (kidney function)
  • Complete blood count
  • Liver function tests
  • Thyroid hormone levels
  • Serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation to rule out blood disorders
  • Neurofascin 155 and contactin 1 levels
You may also need other types of diagnostic tests:

  • Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction tests measure demyelination by testing how well your muscles and nerves work together.
  • Lumbar puncture (spinal tap), done by inserting a needle into your spine, retrieves a sample of cerebrospinal fluid to look for immune cells and protein levels that suggest CIDP.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows detailed images of the nerves in your lower back. If these nerves react to the dye used in the test, it can point to CIDP.
  • Nerve biopsy involves removing a piece of nerve to check for demyelination, but this test is rarely done.

Treatment and Medication Options for CIDP

The most common treatments for CIDP include corticosteroids, IVIG infusions, and blood plasma exchange. But physical and occupational therapy can also play an important role in maintaining mobility and independence.

Medication Options

The two primary medications used to treat CIDP are corticosteroids and IVIG.

Corticosteroids treat inflammation and work best for CIDP that comes on more slowly and for symptoms that don’t resolve with other treatments.

IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) treatment involves getting an IV infusion of healthy immune system proteins that can calm the assault on your nerves.

 IVIG works faster and has fewer side effects than corticosteroids, so your provider may recommend this option first.

Other immunosuppressive medications used to treat CIDP include:

  • azathioprine (Imuran)
  • cyclosporine (Neoral, Gengraf, Sandimmune)
  • tacrolimus (Prograf)
  • mycophenolate (CellCept)

For treatment-resistant CIDP, experts have developed new and investigational medication options, like:

  • efgartigimod (Vyvgart Hytrulo), which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CIDP

  • rituximab (Rituxan) and other B-cell therapies

  • Investigational complement inhibitors like empasiprubart

Plasma Exchange

Plasma exchange (plasmapheresis), another common CIDP treatment, filters out harmful antibodies from the plasma in your blood using a specialized machine. This treatment usually works for a few weeks, so you may need regular treatments until symptoms resolve.

Physical and Occupational Therapy

Physical and occupational therapists who specialize in neurology disorders can help you strengthen muscles, relearn coordination, and use devices like canes and walkers to stay independent, even when symptoms limit movement.

Lifestyle Changes for CIDP

Some lifestyle changes can promote better nerve health, and others can help you cope with symptoms and changes in your physical abilities.

Ask for Help When You Need It

Before treatment starts working, you may have trouble caring for yourself. Tasks like tooth brushing, hair care, using the toilet, and cutting your nails can pose a challenge, so it’s important to ask for help from a caregiver when you need it. If you need help finding someone to lend a hand with activities of daily living, your provider can make recommendations.

Make Changes to Your Diet and Nutrition Intake

A balanced diet can support your nervous system, so try to include proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats in your daily meals and snacks, as well as a good mix of vitamins and minerals.

To help your nerves work at their best, include these foods in your diet:

  • Vegetables
  • Fruits
  • Whole grains
  • Legumes
  • Omega-3 rich foods
  • Lean protein sources
For optimal nerve health, it’s also best to avoid or limit alcohol, sodium, saturated or trans fats, and added sugars.

Get Regular Exercise, but Don’t Overdo It

Exercise strengthens your muscles, gives you more energy, improves your mood, and helps you sleep better, but if you do too much too fast, you can slow down your progress.

 Your physical or occupational therapist can help you pace yourself so you can get the most benefit out of exercise.

Take Advantage of Mental Health Services

A CIDP diagnosis can spark strong emotions, and medical trauma from tests and treatments can cause symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). No matter what you feel about your condition, your reaction is normal and valid. If you feel anxious about your CIDP, ask your provider to connect you with a mental health practitioner who can guide you through tests and treatment.

CIDP Prognosis

About 2 out of 3 people with CIDP notice improving symptoms after treatment with IVIG, steroids, or plasma exchange, and for 4 in 10 people, symptoms go away completely.

If nerve damage from CIDP went on for a while before treatment started, you may have some permanent symptoms.

 About 10 to 15 percent of people with CIDP have resistance to treatment, and 50 percent experience symptoms returning (relapse).

Complications of CIDP

CIDP muscle weakness sometimes extends beyond your limbs, which can cause serious health complications. For example, if you have trouble swallowing, food and liquids can fall into your breathing tube and cause pneumonia. When the muscles around your lungs lose strength, you can also have a hard time breathing.

Sometimes, CIDP nerve damage can also affect other areas of the body, causing:

If you ever have trouble breathing, call 911 or go to your closest emergency room.

Research and Statistics: Who Has CIDP?

CIDP is a rare condition, affecting only about 1 to 9 people per every 100,000. People born male get it twice as often as those born female. You can develop CIDP at any age, but some research suggests CIDP gets more common as you get older, and the average age at diagnosis in some studies is 60.

Support for People With CIDP

GBS/CIDP Foundation International

This global nonprofit foundation funds research, educates clinicians, and continues to build a network of volunteers, healthcare providers, and researchers to provide people with CIDP with the most accurate and up-to-date information. They also host community groups across the world to connect you with specialists and others with the same nerve condition.

The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy

This philanthropically funded public charity foundation is committed to spreading awareness, educating, advocating, and supporting research for peripheral neuropathy. Their website offers a resource library, support groups, and caregiver tips so you and your loved ones can live well with neuropathy symptoms.

The Takeaway

  • Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is an autoimmune condition that damages the myelin sheath, a protective sleeve around nerves.
  • Nerve damage from CIDP can cause muscle weakness and sensory symptoms like tingling or numbness in your hands and feet.
  • CIDP treatment starts with IVIG infusion, plasma replacement, or corticosteroids to lessen inflammation and slow immune system overreaction, but emerging medications also show promise.
  • Most people with CIDP respond well to treatment, and physical and occupational therapy can help you regain muscle strength and maintain independence.

FAQ

What causes chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy?

Experts don’t know what causes CIDP, but research suggests an immune system attack on healthy nerves leads to inflammation and damage.

Yes. Up to 40 percent of people with CIDP respond so well to treatment that they have no further symptoms.

The life expectancy of someone with CIDP is the same as anyone in the general population.

CIDP can be serious if it’s not treated quickly. If left too long, nerve damage can become permanent, but with fast treatment, you can make a full recovery.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Gogia B et al. Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy. StatPearls. March 4, 2024.
  2. Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy. National Organization for Rare Disorders. October 1, 2024.
  3. CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). Cleveland Clinic. December 4, 2023.
  4. Quint P et al. Preventing Long-Term Disability in CIDP: The Role of Timely Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring in a Multicenter CIDP Cohort. Journal of Neurology. July 11, 2024.
  5. FDA Approves Treatment for Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) in Adults. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. June 24, 2024.
  6. Nobile-Orazio E et al. Rituximab Versus Placebo for Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy: A Randomized Trial. Brain. April 2025.
  7. Van de Walle I et al. Randomized Phase I Trial Outcomes Show Safe and Sustainable Inhibition of Classical and Lectin Complement Pathways by Empasiprubart. Nature Communications. August 16, 2025.
  8. Hansen M. Guillain-Barré Syndrome, CIDP and Variants: Guidelines for Physical and Occupational Therapy. GBS/CIDP Foundation International.
  9. CIDP. Inflammatory Neuropathies UK.
  10. El Soury M et al. The Role of Dietary Nutrients in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. July 10, 2021.
  11. Peripheral Neuropathy Nutrition. The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy.
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Jason Paul Chua, MD, PhD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Jason Chua, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Division of Movement Disorders at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received his training at the University of Michigan, where he obtained medical and graduate degrees, then completed a residency in neurology and a combined clinical/research fellowship in movement disorders and neurodegeneration.

Dr. Chua’s primary research interests are in neurodegenerative disease, with a special focus on the cellular housekeeping pathway of autophagy and its impact on disease development in diseases such as Parkinson disease. His work has been supported by multiple research training and career development grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the American Academy of Neurology. He is the primary or coauthor of 14 peer-reviewed scientific publications and two peer-reviewed online learning modules from the American Academy of Neurology. He is also a contributing author to The Little Black Book of Neurology by Osama Zaldat, MD and Alan Lerner, MD, and has peer reviewed for the scientific journals Autophagy, eLife, and Neurobiology of Disease.

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Abby McCoy, RN

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Abby McCoy is an experienced registered nurse who has worked with adults and pediatric patients encompassing trauma, orthopedics, home care, transplant, and case management. She is a married mother of four and loves the circus — that is her home! She has family all over the world, and loves to travel as much as possible.

McCoy has written for publications like Remedy Health Media, Sleepopolis, and Expectful. She is passionate about health education and loves using her experience and knowledge in her writing.

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