Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a therapy treatment for patients with antibody deficiencies. It is prepared from a pool of immunoglobulins (antibodies) from the plasma of thousands of healthy donors. IVIG is used to treat various autoimmune, infectious, and idiopathic diseases. Some of the diseases that IVIG can treat include:

• Antibody deficiencies
• Kawasaki disease
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
• Lupus
• Myositis
• Other rare diseases
• Neurological diseases like myasthenia gravis or multiple sclerosis
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in those with systemic lupus erythematosus
• Several other conditions of immunodeficiency

IVIG works in different ways to prevent the body from attacking itself and to decrease several types of inflammation in the body. It is considered safe for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. IVIG is given as an intravenous infusion (through the vein in the arm), which takes several hours to complete. Frequency of infusions varies according to the patient’s need.