ABSTRACT
Polyvalent intravenous gammaglobulin (IVIG) preparations have been used for many years to prevent bacterial and viral infections in hypo-or agammaglobulinemic patients. In 1978 we encountered an infant who became the first confirmed case of HIV infection. The infant and a subsequently identified cluster of HIV -infected children presented with a curious constellation of recurrent bacterial infections, sepsis, and abnormal specific antibody responses in the face of hypergammaglobulinemia (1-3). This pattern of humoral immune defect was reminiscent of the Nezeloff syndrome (3). Therefore, in 1979, before AIDS was discovered, we treated these patients with 200 mg/kg body weight monthly IVIG regimen as recommended for congenital B-cell defects. Subsequently, a variety of IVIG regimens have been utilized in controlled and uncontrolled srudies.
