HIGH DOSE INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULINS

Arch Neurol 1999 Jun;56(6):661-3

Mechanisms of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins in demyelinating
diseases.

Stangel M, Toyka KV, Gold R

MRC Centre for Brain Repair, Cambridge University, England.

Administration of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins has become
one of the most successful new treatment regimens for demyelinating
diseases. In a decade of molecular medicine, it came as a surprise
that a natural blood product would prove effective in several
disorders, including Guillain-Barre syndrome, chronic inflammatory
demyelinating polyneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy, and,
probably, multiple sclerosis. Many experimental studies, both in vivo
and in vitro, have shown that intravenous immunoglobulins can
interfere with the immune system at several levels. In addition,
intravenous immunoglobulins may promote remyelination in
demyelinating disease associated with viral infections. At present,
no single mode of action has been identified as the crucial
mechanism, which leads us to suggest that multiple effects may act in
concert.

PMID: 10369303, UI: 99295977