Immunoglobulin therapy in neurologic diseases.

An overview is given on the use of immunoglobulins in clinical neurology. While 5S-immunoglobulins may be employed in addition to virostatics in viral encephalitis, 7S-immunoglobulins can be used in autoimmune diseases like myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, and the Guillain-Barré syndrome. Refractory childhood epilepsies like the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome responded to 7S-immunoglobulins. Hyperimmunoglobulins are to be given in bacterial infections in which toxins are formed and in viral infections caused by cytomegalovirus and tick-borne encephalitis virus. While some open studies report benefit from the use of immunoglobulins in neurological diseases, controlled evidence for their efficacy is still missing.