Thirty one patients in stable respiratory failure (arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) 67 +/- 20 mmHg (8.9 +/- 2.7 kPa) and arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) 59 +/- 10 mmHg 7.9 +/- 1.3 kPa)), secondary to non-obstructive ventilatory impairment, were treated by intermittent negative pressure ventilation (INPV), using a pneumowrap or poncho during the night. Daytime arterial blood gas measurements, taken before and after the ventilation, revealed a substantial improvement in PaO2, PaCO2 and maximal inspiratory pressure (Pimax). This improvement persisted during the six month follow-up of home nocturnal ventilation. The polysomnographic, recording during mechanical ventilation by poncho, in five patients, showed a general improvement in the quality and structure of sleep. All patients returned to normal arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) values (> 90%), except for one. In three patients, the appearance of obstructive events was noted but the desaturation that they caused was, remarkably, lower than that caused by central events in baseline recording. We conclude that non-invasive treatment by INPV, in patients with neuromuscular and chest wall disease, is the method of choice as an alternative to intermittent positive pressure ventilation and to tracheostomy.