ABSTRACT
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has become an important treatment option for neurological diseases with presumed autoimmune pathogenesis such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy, dermatomyositis and myasthenia gravis1-3. The rationale has been ascribed to a broad range of immunological activities of IVIG, which are important to maintain immune homeostasis and which may interfere with immunopathological conditions as well2,4,5. With this rationale, IVIG has been tested in multiple sclerosis (MS). These studies are summarized in this chapter. Despite numerous experimental studies, therapeutic mechanisms of IVIG in MS remain speculative, partly because pathophysiological mechanisms of MS are poorly understood, and are probably variable between patients6. Nevertheless, the number of controlled clinical trials of IVIG has grown steadily over the years, allowing some conclusions about the role of IVIG in MS.
