Objectives: Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an acute ascending flaccid paralysis that is often preceded by a mild bacterial or viral infection. Management options include supportive care, physiotherapy, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and plasmapheresis. Our aim was to compare IVIG treatment and supportive care to supportive care alone in cases of moderate to severe GBS in children less than...

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune skin disease. Evidence-based therapy for CLE is lacking in the most part. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is being increasingly utilized as off-label therapy for a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, especially in dermatology. The usefulness of IVIg in CLE is not well established. The goal of the present s...

BACKGROUND Recipients of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) develop prominent B-cell hyperreactivity. We investigated the influence of anti-HLA antibodies on waiting time to cardiac transplantation in LVAD recipients and compared the effects of 2 immunomodulatory regimens on anti-HLA serum reactivity. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifty-five previously nonsensitized LVAD recipients of a TCI device...

We describe the case of an eight-year-old boy with X-linked agammaglobulinemia who developed mild varicella despite regular intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy. He maintained protective antibody levels against varicella and the previous batches of IVIG that he received had adequate varicella-specific IgG levels. The case illustrates that IVIG may not prevent VZV infection.

BACKGROUND We aimed to determine the effects of treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin on bacterial infections in patients with hypogammaglobulinemia (HGG) after lung transplantation. METHODS We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled two-period crossover trial of immune globulin intravenous (IVIG), 10% Purified (Gamunex, Bayer, Elkhart, IN) monthly in eleven adults who ha...

BACKGROUND Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus found across Asia that is closely related to West Nile virus. There is no known antiviral treatment for any flavivirus. Results from in vitro studies and animal models suggest intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) containing virus-specific neutralizing antibody may be effective in improving outcome in viral encephaliti...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is used to treat a number of immune deficiencies and autoimmune diseases. The pharmacokinetic proprieties of IVIg in healthy persons are well defined. The broad range of clinical applications of IVIg shows the importance of immunoglobulins in the immune homeostasis in healthy people. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is an immunomodulating agent that has multip...

OBJECTIVE There is no consensus on which treatment should be used preferentially in individual patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Patients unlikely to respond to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) could be prescribed corticosteroids first to avoid high cost and a delayed treatment response. We investigated which factors determined a response to IVIg. METHOD...

RATIONALE Intravascular neutrophil recruitment and activation are key pathogenic factors that contribute to vascular injury. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been shown to have a beneficial effect in systemic inflammatory disorders; however, the mechanisms underlying IVIG's inhibitory effect on neutrophil recruitment and activation are not understood. OBJECTIVE We studied the mechanisms ...

In Canada, intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) use has increased by 115% over the past 7 to 8 years. Given this increased usage, Canadian Blood Services and the National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products for Canada identified the need to develop and disseminate evidence-based guidelines to facilitate appropriate IVIG use. As a result, guidelines for IVIG use in hematologic and neuro...