ABSTRACT
In 1983, Ariizumi et al. reported improvement in patients with infantile spasms after treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). The seizure types and epileptic syndromes that have appeared to benefit from IVIG include idiopathic and symptomatic infantile spasms, idiopathic and symptomatic Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, postencephalitic epilepsy, and partial epilepsy of unknown origin in both children and adults. Currently idiopathic infantile spasms appear to present no relapses after a first treatment. This is in contrast to nearly all other types of epilepsy treated with IVIG. In patients with symptomatic epilepsy it is clear that IVIG has no effect on any neurologic sequelae other than epilepsy. Whether or not IVIG could be effective as a “protective” treatment in certain encephalopathie conditions that are known to cause epilepsy has not been demonstrated. The use of IVIG has been associated acutely with fever, headache, and skin rash. Usually these adverse effects respond to symptomatic treatment.
