Appropriate therapy during the acute phase of Kawasaki disease to prevent large coronary artery lesions (CAL) has not been established. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the usefulness of initial intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy with delayed administration of anti-inflammatory drugs (ADs). A total of 132 pediatric patients who received IVIG therapy with delayed adm...

BACKGROUND Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of unknown etiology. Immunoregulatory abnormalities have been thought to contribute to its pathogenesis. Although treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) effectively prevents significant cardiac morbidity, the mechanism by which IVIG produces an effect in KD has yet to be fully elucidated. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) preparations are increasingly used for therapy of several neuroimmunologic diseases. IVIg therapy is considered safe, although serious side effects like aseptic meningitis, cerebral vasospasm, or ischemic encephalopathy have been reported. These side effects are frequently associated with neutrophilic pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), suggesting a n...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) contains anti-amyloid-β antibodies as well as antibodies providing immunomodulatory effects that may modify chronic inflammation in Alzheimer's disease. Answers to important questions about IVIG transport into the central nervous system and assessments of any impact amyloid-β has on this transport can be provided by in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier. I...

In the treatment of autoimmune diseases, intravenous Igs (IVIg) are assumed to modulate immune cells through the binding of surface receptors. IVIg act upon definite human B cell populations to modulate Ig repertoire, and such modulation might proceed through intracellular signaling. However, the heterogeneity of human B cell populations complicates investigations of the intracellular pathways ...

Dear Editor, Infusions of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) are the only established therapy for patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) (Umapathi et al., 2009), but the effects are transient and the infusions have to be repeated periodically (Van den Berg, 2007). As two pilot trials with interferon beta-1a (INFβ-1a) as a monotherapy have suggested some benefit (Martina et al., 1999; v...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We sought to determine whether high-dose aspirin is necessary for the acute therapy of Kawasaki disease (KD) in the intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) era. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Two groups of KD patients treated during the different periods were included. Study group (n=51, treated with IVIG without concomitant use of aspirin in the acute phase) was compared with contr...

Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been proposed as a potential therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its efficacy is currently being tested in mild-to-moderate AD. Earlier studies reported the presence of anti-amyloid beta (Aβ) antibodies in IVIG. These observations led to clinical studies investigating the potential role of IVIG as a therapeutic agent in AD. Also, IVIG is known to m...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Ten to twenty percent of children with Kawasaki disease (KD) do not respond to initial intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment. If untreated, approximately 15% to 25% of KD patients have complications. The aim of this study was to find useful predictors of responsiveness to initial IVIG treatment in KD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed medical rec...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is a therapeutic preparation of polyspecific human IgGs purified from plasma pooled from thousands of individuals. When administered at a high dose, IVIg inhibits inflammation and has proven efficacy in the treatment of various autoimmune and systemic inflammatory diseases. Importantly, IVIg therapy can ameliorate both auto-antibody-mediated and T-cell mediated...