Therapy 2005 Sep 2 (5):797-805
Simovic D
Department of Neurology, Tufts University School of Medicine, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, MA 02135, USA. info@emglaboratory.com
Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) are an effective treatment for a variety of immune mediated neuropathies. The benefits have been recognized from the controlled studies for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN). In monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and neuropathy the effectiveness is variable. Tolerability of IVIg is very good and the adverse reactions are usually minor. Further controlled trails are needed to assess the efficacy of second IVIg infusion in non responders in GBS, maintenance IVIg dose and frequency in CIDP and MMN, efficacy of IVIg in diabetes associated CIDP and the benefits of combination therapy with other immunomodulating medications.
