Abstract
<i>Objective: </i>Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has been widely used in neurological diseases during the last decade. The current indications for IVIg in the acute management of neuromuscular disorders, often similar to the indications for plasma exchange, are reviewed and discussed on the basis of the available clinical and experimental data. <i>Data Sources and Selection Criteria: </i>Original papers and reviews on IVIg, covered by repeated MEDLINE searches from 1981 to 1996 and some significant papers from other sources. <i>Results: </i>Compared to plasma exchange, that has been used for some of the indications treated with IVIg, the latter is more widely available and has only few side effects with a small risk of transmission of infectious agents. Good clinical evidence for the efficacy of IVIg is available for Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and multifocal motor neuropathy. In conditions like myasthenia gravis and myositis, favorable effects were reported, but future studies have to be awaited. <i>Conclusions: </i>IVIg is a promising therapy, that has been shown to be effective in some neuromuscular disorders. Routine use in the acute management of these diseases should be restricted to conditions for which a positive effect has been proven in controlled trials.
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