Subacute demyelinating polyneuropathy responding to corticosteroid treatment.

Ten patients with subacute demyelinating neuropathy responded satisfactorily to corticosteroid treatment. The most prominent features in these cases were (1) subacute progression of diffuse polyneuropathy over weeks and months, (2) high spinal fluid protein level, (3) marked nerve conduction abnormalities, and (4) high rate of relapse. The sural nerve biopsy specimen showed "demyelinating neuropathy." This subacute demyelination neuropathy appears to be a distinct and clinically identifiable entity in which corticosteroid treatment is indicated.