INTERFERON-GAMMA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF INFECTIOUS-DISEASES

Interferon-gamma has pleiotropic adjuvant effects on host defenses. Th ese effects have made interferon-gamma particularly useful for enhanci ng host defenses in patients with chronic granulomatous disease of chi ldhood and thus for reducing the incidence of life-threatening infecti ons in these patients. Increasingly, data suggest that interferon-gamm a will be useful for treating infections characterized by intracellula r persistence in macrophages, such as toxoplasmosis, leishmaniasis, an d mycobacteriosis. Interferon-gamma is emerging as an important cytoki ne for use in the treatment of infectious diseases.