title: Rare indications of IVIG therapy in neurological diseases based on case reports and small studies.
abstract: IVIG treatment has been tried in several neurological diseases with presumed immunopathogenesis. Many of the rare neurological diseases seem to benefit from IVIG treatment; however, negative results have been rarely published. Despite the majority of positive results, a general use of IVIG cannot be recommended for these diseases. Beside the lack of controlled studies and the small numbers of reported cases, a publication bias has to be considered since negative study results are usually not reported. Therefore, at this stage treatment with IVIG should be used in conjunction with controlled therapy trials.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45, 89081, Ulm, Germany. hayrettin.tumani@uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Hayrettin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tumani
mesh_terms: D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D017594:Publication Bias; D035583:Rare Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous