Plasma Exchanges for Severe Acute Neurological Deterioration in Patients with IgM Anti-myelin-associated Glycoprotein (anti-MAG) Neuropathy

Monoclonal IgM anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) antibody-related peripheral neuropathy (anti-MAG neuropathy) is predominantly a demyelinating sensory neuropathy with ataxia and distal paresthesia. The clinical course of anti-MAG neuropathy is usually slowly progressive making difficult the identification of clear criteria to start a specific treatment. Although no consensus treatment is yet available, a rituximab-based regimen targeting the B-cell clone producing the monoclonal IgM may be proposed, alone or in combination with alkylating agents or purine analogs. However, in some rare cases, an acute and severe neurological deterioration can occur in few days leading to a rapid loss of autonomy. In these cases, a treatment rapidly removing the monoclonal IgM from the circulation might be useful before initiating a specific therapy. We report successful treatment with plasma exchanges (PE) in four patients presenting with acute neurological deterioration. PE allowed a dramatic and rapid neurological improvement in all patients. PE are safe and may be useful at the initial management of these cases of anti-MAG neuropathy.