Caution when using steroids

Anonymous
February 16, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Here is one quote,

“[I]Although steroids are beneficial for most of the subgroups, this is not so for both of the pure motor syndromes which should be treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. Patients with chronic development of Motor Sensory Demyelinating Neuropathy respond less well to steroids than those with a subacute onset.[/I] ”

And the link- [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12796835[/url]

Another interesting quote, yet not directly related some would say, because they are apparently talking about MMN. still, it is an immune-mediated disorder according to Hopkins.

“[I]Corticosteroids: Unlike chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, steroids have rarely been effective in the treatment of multifocal motor neuropathy, with a response rate of 11%; 7 of 64 cases reported in the literature have been reported to improve either alone or in combination with other modalities. It is important to note that over 20% of patients with MMN have been reported to worsen in strength, sometimes dramatically, after initiation of corticosteroids treatment.[/I]”

And the corresponding link (from John Hopkins)

[url]http://www.neuro.jhmi.edu/MMN/treatment.html[/url]