INTERFERON CONTENT OF INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN - VARIATION BETWEEN PREPARATIONS

The use of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) has presented many confu sing questions as to the diverse usefulness in various unrelated disea se states, Approved for the primary immunodeficiencies, IVIG as a ther apeutic modality has proven benefit in disease states such as Kawasaki 's disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpu ra, and recently relapsing multiple sclerosis, Evidence has surfaced a bout the ability of IVIG to reverse the immune responses, much like st eroids, through such modalities as Fc receptor blockade and cytokine r egulation, We present further evidence of the as yet unknown array of cytokines present in commercial IVIG preparations, The cocktail-like a vailability of these cytokines have the potential to influence immune mechanisms; specifically, levels of the interferons present in commerc ial IVIG products vary from source to source, Without knowing the cyto kine profile present in the products, the usefulness of these IVIG pre parations in altering immune function may be misleading to researchers and clinicians, (Pediatr Asthma Allergy Immunol 1997;11[2]:137-139.)