Chronic inflammatory neuropathies, among which chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is most frequently encountered, are diseases where early diagnosis and subsequent immunomodulating treatment can significantly improve the patients’ prognosis. Electrophysiological examination and in particular laboratory evidence of pathological autoantibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid along with a detailed examination of liquor is part of standard laboratory examination methods. With advancing knowledge on the immunopathoge- nesis of chronic inflammatory polyneuropathies a higher specificity of the examined laboratory parameters may be foreseen.

        Key words: chronic inflammatory polyneuropathies, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), cerebrospinal fluid, autoantibodies.