Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare autoimmune disorder in which a person’s own immune system mounts an inflammatory response and causes damage to the peripheral nerves, resulting in weakness and/or paralysis of the legs and arms.
What happens is that the body’s defenses attack and strip away the myelin sheath, a fatty protective covering that protects the peripheral nerve fibers. In later stages, the myelin sheath is broken down and the nerves are directly attacked. CIDP is related to Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (AIDP); however, the effects of CIDP come on more slowly and are chronic and long-lasting. CIDP is also known as Chronic Relapsing Polyneuropathy – when patients seem to stabilize and recover, then experience a later return of symptoms.
The most common symptoms include fatigue, loss of reflexes, tingling in the arms and legs, numbness, aching muscular pains, weakness, and paralysis. While CIDP has been known to affect people independent of age or gender, it is also believed to be more common in young adults and affects men more so than women.
Unfortunately, the exact cause of CIDP is not definitively known. However, there are documented cases of CIDP in connection with vaccination. Specifically, cases of CIDP have occurred in individuals after receiving vaccines, such as the seasonal influenza vaccine, Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DTaP) vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
If you suffer from CIDP and believe it was caused after receipt of a vaccination, give us a call. We would be happy to evaluate your case and, if possible, assist you in pursuing compensation. Our attorneys at Rawls Law Group have successfully pursued such vaccine injury claims before the Court of Federal Claims, and we are ready to assist those in need.