PubMed · 54642
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1976-01-17. Editorial: Multiple Sclerosis.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/54642/
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Intravenous human immunoglobulins (IVIG) are valuable in the treatment of several immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases. The classic, well-known indications are primary hypogammaglobulinaemic conditions, immune thrombocytopenia and Kawasaki's syndrome. IVIG's content of specific antibodies toward a series of known, pathogenic microorganisms has led to the treatment of a number of infectious conditions and IVIG has a documented effect on AIDS in children, prophylactically in cases with potentially life-threatening CMV infections in certain types of transplants and prophylactically in hypogammaglobulinaemic patients with the most common variety of leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Immunotherapy with IVIG in diseases of autoimmune character such as acute and chronic demyelinating neuropathy has recently shown promising results and encouraging reports have been published in the treatment of severe, steroid-dependent asthma, juvenile chronic arthritis and systemic vasculitis and dermatomyositis where IVIG possibly has a favourable immunomodulating effect on the patient's immune response. Future treatment will probably consist of polyvalent immunoglobulins as well as monoclonal or recombinant monovalent antibodies.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease characterized by neurologic dysfunction due to focal CNS lesions with demyelination. The cause of the disease is unknown; but it may be due to a virus and/or autoimmune reactions. The latter cause is suspected on account of family- and ethnical studies, the first on account of locally produced antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid, and also epidemiologic investigations. The newly discovered human retroviruses, especially HTLV-I which is the cause of tropical spastic paraparesis, has been suspected as a possible cause; but this has been disproved by multiple antibody- and PCR-studies. An uncharacterized exogenous or an endogenous retrovirus is still considered to be a possible cause or possibly partial cause of the disease which could be multifactorial.