Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus-associated thrombocytopenia

✍ Scribed by William P. Maier; David S. Gordon; Robert F. Howard; Mansoor N. Saleh; Stephen B. Miller; Jefrey D. Lieberman; Pamela M. Woodlee

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 673 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780330825

✦ Synopsis

Seven patients with thrombocytopenia and systemic lupus erythematosus were treated with intravenous (IV) doses of human immunoglobulin to assess clinical response and to examine the mechanism of action of IV immunoglobulin in these patients. Five of 7 patients had a >50% increase in their platelet counts. Four of these patients had a sustained benefit of at least 6 months duration. The initial effectiveness of IV immunoglobulin therapy was not dependent ,on the reduction of levels of circulating platelet-binding IgG or circulating immune complexes.

Intravenous (IV) immunoglobulin preparations for therapeutic use are composed primarily of monomeric IgG that is derived from Cohn fraction I1 of pooled plasma from large donor groups. In addition to its use in the treatment of hypogamrnaglobulinernia, IV immunoglobulin has recently been used to treat various immunoregulatory disorders. Large, multicenter, randomized trials have established its effec-From the