A dose comparison study of IVIG in postpartum relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Untreated patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have an elevated risk of exacerbation in the first 3 months postpartum. Pregnant patients (n =173) with RRMS and with at least one relapse in the two years before pregnancy were enrolled in this multinational, multicentre, randomized double-blind clinical trial investigating different doses of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment in the 6 months postpartum. Group I (unloaded) received 150 mg/kg body weight (BW) IVIG on Day 1, then placebo infusions on Day 2 and Day 3.

Cerebrospinal fluid IgM index correlates with cranial MRI lesion load in patients with multiple sclerosis.

In multiple sclerosis intrathecal IgM synthesis correlates with an unfavourable disease course. Whether this reflects a pathogenic role of IgM, possibly in conjunction with complement, is a matter of debate. In a cross-sectional study we measured intrathecal synthesis of IgM and the complement component C3, and on cranial MRI lesion load and central brain atrophy in clinically active patients, 17 relapsing-remitting, 16 secondary progressive.

Intravenous immunoglobulin in MS: promise or failure?

There is an established role for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the treatment of certain neurologic autoimmune disorders which affect the peripheral nervous system and a variety of immunomodulatory properties of IVIG have been proposed. This prompted an intense research into the efficacy of IVIG in central nervous system autoimmune disorders and until now several well-controlled clinical trials have been performed in different stages and phenotypes of multiple sclerosis (MS). The results were mixed.

Intravenous immunoglobulin in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Several double-blind placebo-controlled trials of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis have shown beneficial effects of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) on relapse rate and disability. The European Study on Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Multiple Sclerosis set out to test IVIG in the secondary progressive phase of the disease.

Methods: 318 patients with clinically definite secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (mean age 44 years [SD 7]) were randomly assigned IVIG 1 g/kg per month (n=159) or an equivalent volume of placebo (albumin 0.

European study on intravenous immunoglobulin in multiple sclerosis: results of magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging analysis.

Background: Magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging (MT MRI) can provide in vivo markers reflecting the severity of multiple sclerosis-related brain damage occurring within and outside T2-visible lesions.

Objective: To investigate the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment on the accumulation of brain damage in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), measured using MT MRI.Design, Patients, and Intervention Seventy patients with SPMS participating in the European, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of IVIG in SPMS underwent brain T2-weighted and MT MRI at baseline and after 12 and 24 months.

Validation of diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging criteria for multiple sclerosis and response to interferon beta1a.

In the recently proposed diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) by McDonald, the modified magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Barkhof criteria have been incorporated. We examined the validity of this implementation in the Early Treatment of MS study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 22 microg interferon beta1a given subcutaneously once weekly in 309 patients with a first episode consistent with demyelinating disease (and abnormal MRI). Conversion to clinically definite MS (CDMS) within 2 years of follow-up, as evidenced by a new clinical episode, occurred in 41% of patients (independent of treatment) with gadolinium enhancement or nine or more T2 lesions versus 11% of those without either finding (p = 0.