INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN (IVIg) IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES – EXPANDING INDICATIONS AND INCREASING SPECIFICITY

Even though intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) was originally used for the correction of immunodeficiency states, in the recent years it is also used as an immunomodulating agent in several autoimmune diseases. The indications for IVIg use in autoimmunity progressively expand and might include for example systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune vasculitides, and antiphospholipid syndrome. However, as disease indications expand, IVIg should be used in specific situations that depend on both patients’ variables (e.g. clinical manifestations) and on IVIg-related variables (e.g. concentration of specific anti-idiotypes).