Intravenous Immunoglobulin - IVIG Notes

IVIG Notes

• IVIG is an infusion of IgG antibodies only. Therefore, peripheral tissues that are defended mainly by IgA antibodies, such as the eyes, lungs, gut and urinary tract are not fully protected by the IVIG treatment.
• XLA patients are immune to the most dangerous adverse effect, anaphylactic shock, as they do not have the antibodies to react against the treatment. Anaphylactic shock has a higher chance to occur in IgA deficient patients which do have other antibody types.
• In case of recurring side effects, it is recommended to slow the pace of the IVIG administration and to reduce the dosage. It is also advisable to change IVIG brand, as some people react against a specific brand.
• If the patient is diabetic, he should take into consideration the medium in which the antibodies are solubilized in the IVIG treatment, as some brand solubilize antibodies with high concentrated sugars (such as sucrose and maltose).
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for IVIG state the product should be:
  • Prepared out of at least 1,000 different human donors.
  • All four IgG subgroups (1-4) should be present.
  • The IgG should maintain biological activity and lifetime of at least 21 days.
  • Does not contain samples which are HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C positive.
  • Screened and treated in a manner that destroys viruses.
• IVIG is also considered a modulator of the immune system and was shown to be beneficial in treating numerous autoimmune diseases such as relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), myasthenia gravis, pemphigus, polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM), Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), Churg-Strauss syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and more.
• IVIG can be given to pregnant women.
• IVIG is also used as a treatment for unexplained recurring miscarriages. The effectiveness of the therapy is controversial.
• IVIG cost is stable but over $75/g. ($15,000 for a 100 kg (220 lbs) person at 2g/kg)