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...

Objective: High-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) decreases the risk for development of coronary arterial lesions (CAL) in Kawasaki disease (KD) while patients resistant to IVIG have higher risk. This study is aimed to investigate an additional therapy affects the risk for CAL in IVIG resistant KD. Design: The information from 11,510 children with KD was collected by the nationwide survey ...

BACKGROUND IgG replacement therapy (IgRT) in primary immunodeficiencies (PID) is a lifelong treatment which may be administered intravenously (IVIg) or subcutaneously (SCIg), at hospital or at home. The objective of the VISAGE study was to investigate if route and/or place for IgRT impact patients' satisfaction regarding IgRT and quality of life (QoL) in real-life conditions. METHODS The stud...

BACKGROUND The natural history of coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment in the United States is not well described. We describe the natural history of CAA in US Kawasaki disease (KD) patients and identify factors associated with major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and CAA regression. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated all KD patients with CAA at 2 cen...

Previous, Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been used for treatment of patients with immunodeficiency. However, recent studies have shown that IVIG is a suitable approach for treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Although the exact mechanism of IVIG action is not well known, recent findings have demonstrated that IVIG impacts on expression and function of FC receptors of immuno...

To explore the potential for monoclonal antibodies as a treatment for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and to further explore their mechanisms of action, we tested 8 monoclonal CD44 antibodies in murine ITP and found 4 antibodies that could successfully ameliorate ITP; 2 of these antibodies function at a full 3-log fold lower dosage compared with IVIg. Further characterization of the 2 most succes...

The efficacy and safety, including arrhythmia and sudden death, 2 of intravenous methylprednisolone pulse (IVMP) therapy in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) are uncertain. We conducted a control study in KD patients with persistent or recurrent fever (>37.5̊ C) 48 hours after a single infusion of initial intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) 2 g/kg. At enrolment (day 1), the subjects were randomi...

Intravenous human immune globulin (IVIg) has been proposed for the treatment of various peripheral neuropathies that are considered to be immunemediated. The results are reported of an open trial conducted in multifocal motor neuropathy and polyneuropathy associated with monoclonal gammopathy. Six cases with multifocal motor neuropathy, selected on clinical and electrophysiological criteria (fo...

Group B streptococcus (GBS) infection is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis among infants, and is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality in many countries. Protection against GBS typically involves antibody-mediated opsonization by phagocytes and complement components. The present study evaluated serotype-specific functional antibodies to GBS among Korean infants and in int...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is an expensive medicine which is widely used for unlabeled indications. We conducted this drug utilization review (DUR) to evaluate the appropriateness of IVIG utilization in Tehran, Iran. This cross sectional study was conducted in a referral pediatric tertiary care hospital in Tehran. During a three month period in 2015, medical records of inpatients with IV...