Can we face the challenge of expanding use of intravenous immunoglobulin in neurology?

Abstract

The use of high-dose polyclonal intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the treatment of autoimmune neurological diseases has expanded over the last decade. Based on controlled clinical trials IVIG can be considered currently as the first-line treatment in Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and multifocal motor neuropathy, and it may be used as a rescue therapy in worsening myasthenia gravis. IVIG is a second-line therapy in dermatomyositis, stiff-person syndrome and pregnancy-associated or postpartum relapses of multiple sclerosis. Although the biological efficacy of IVIG is due to multiple effects on the immune system, many mechanisms are still unknown. The awareness of risks and complications of IVIG therapy has increased, but severe side effects are still considered rare. Due to increasing costs of this treatment, careful selection of patients who will benefit from IVIG is extremely important.