Medications for Scleroderma, Arthritis,
Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases |
| This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer. |
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| IVIg (Intravenous Immunoglobulin) |
| IVIg (Intravenous Immunoglobulin) is a blood product extracted from the plasma of about 20,000 blood donors. It contains the pooled human immunoglobulin Type G (IgG) which are antibodies of the immune system. IVIg is used to treat immune deficiencies and autoimmune and inflammtory diseases. |
| The plasma that the immunoglobulins come from has been vigorously screened, tested and found to be safe and free of HIV infection and the hepatitis virus. |
| An IVIg treatment can take 2- 5 days, several hours a day. Its effect last between 2 weeks to 3 months. |
| Clinical Trials: Completed, Positive Results ISN. |
| Newly refined antibody therapy may be potent treatment for autoimmune diseases. An old, fickle therapy for a variety of autoimmune diseases is getting a makeover, thanks to a decade-long investigation by Rockefeller University researchers. NewsWire. 04/25/09. |
| Home Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy Safe in Patients With Neuroimmunological Disorders. Intravenous (IV) immunoglobulin therapy has a favourable safety profile for patients with neuroimmunological disorders such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, myasthaenia gravis, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and multifocal motor neuropathy. Doctor's Guide Channel. 04/18/08. (Also see: Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and Dermatomyositis/Polymyositis) |
| Doctor offers medical answers (about IVIg). Jennifer L. Holter, M.D., assistant professor of hematology/oncology and assistant director of the blood and marrow transplant program at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, answered these questions regarding compromised immune systems and intravenous gamma-globulin (IVIg) treatment. NewsOK.com. 04/15/08. |
| Limited effects of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment on molecular expression in muscle tissue of patients with inflammatory myopathies. The clinical effects of high-dose IVIG on muscle function in patients with refractory inflammatory active myositis did not correspond to effects on any of the investigated molecules in our study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2007;66:1276-1283. (Also see: Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis) |
| Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) improve the function and ameliorate joint involvement in systemic sclerosis: a pilot study. This pilot study suggests that IVIg may reduce joint pain and tenderness with a significant recovery of joint function in SSc patients with severe and refractory joint involvement. IVIg cost might limit their use only to patients that failed DMARDs. PubMed. Ann Rheum Dis. 2007 Mar 7. |
| Discovery May Lead to Novel Treatments for Autoimmune and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases. For years, doctors have used IVIG to treat patients with autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, but just how the therapy works has remained a mystery. Some researchers have shown that IVIG works, in part, by activating a receptor known as FcγRIIb, which then suppresses auto-antibody-mediated inflammation. Newswise. 01/26/07. (Also see: Clinical Trials: Positive Results: IVIG, Dermatomyositis, and Myasthenia Gravis) |
| Scientists ID a single sugar that allows antibodies to fight inflammation. When IgG antibodies (immunoglobulins) in plasma begin attacking the body's own cells, they can cause autoimmune disorders. And yet, when IVIG is infused into people with autoimmune conditions, it calms inflammation rather than causing it. The Rockefeller University - Newswire. 08/03/06. |
| Antibodies May Help Treat Alzheimer's Disease And Perhaps Reverse It. A new study has found that treatment with antibodies halted the development of Alzheimer's disease in six out of eight patients. This antibody treatment (IVIg) is commonly used for treatment of autoimmune diseases. Medical News Today. 07/19/06. |
| Costly IVIg could be replaced with synthetic blood product. Scientists are deciphering how a blood-derived product called intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) currently works, and as a result has developed a synthetic replacement product that shows promise in laboratory testing. Medical Research News. 06/01/06. (Also see: Idiopathic Thromocytopenic Purpura) |
| Researchers uncover a pathway linked to Autoimmune disease. In a series of discoveries that has the potential to help researchers halt autoimmune disorders, one Rockefeller University scientist has found an underlying mechanism that begins to explain the pathologies of a number of immune diseases. Journal of Experimental Medicine 203(3): 789-797. 03/29/06. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Autoimmunity) |
| Scleroderma Treatments and Clinical Trials ISN. |
