Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

« Back to Private: Farmacia Journal 6/2011

INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN THERAPY IN NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES

MANOLE COJOCARU1, INIMIOARA MIHAELA COJOCARU2*, SIMONA NEGREŞ3, FLORIAN POPA4, VICTOR LORIN PURCĂREA4, ANDREEA LETIŢIA ARSENE5

1Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, ”Titu Maiorescu” University, No.67A Gheorghe Petraşcu Str., RO-031593, Bucharest
2 Department of Neurology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Colentina Clinical Hospital, No.19-21 Stefan cel Mare Str., RO-020125, Bucharest
3 Department of Pharmacology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy „Carol Davila”, Faculty of Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, Sect. 2, 020956, Bucharest, Romania
4 “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest
5 Department of Biochemistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy „Carol Davila”, Faculty of Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, Sect. 2, 020956, Bucharest, Romania

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Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is used to treat a number of immune deficiencies and autoimmune diseases. The pharmacokinetic proprieties of IVIg in healthy persons are well defined. The broad range of clinical applications of IVIg shows the importance of immunoglobulins in the immune homeostasis in healthy people. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is an immunomodulating agent that has multiple activities. IVIg can be administrated in different ways (intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intravenous) and have a half-life of 21 to 30 days. IVIg is used to treat: epilepsy and pediatric intractable Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, miastenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, multifocal motor neuropathy, multiple sclerosis. However, the therapeutical indications for IVIg use progressively expanded. The means of increased specificity of IVIg therapy should include both patient-related variables (clinical manifestations, laboratory parameters, response to other therapeutic modalities) and drug-related characteristics such as specific idiotypes’ concentration within IVIg.