Immune Globulin Health Article

Definition

Immune globulin is a concentrated solution of antibodies, pooled from donated blood, which is sometimes given to cancer patients whose own immune systems are either not working or are suppressed as a side effect of treatment. Immune globulin can also be called gamma globulin; in the United States some of the brand names are Gamimune, Gammagard, Gammar-P, Iveegam, Polygam, Sandoglobulin, and Venoglobulin.

Purpose

A healthy human body produces proteins called antibodies that act to destroy microorganisms (bacteria and viruses) that invade the body. Some cancer patients, due to the illness itself or side effects of treatment, become depleted of these proteins and therefore susceptible to serious infections. Immune globulin is given to these patients to restore their body's immunity. The use of immune globulin in this way is also called passive immunization. For example, immune globulin is given to bone marrow transplant recipients to prevent the development of severe bacterial infections while their own immune system is not functioning, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients (of the type whose antibody-producing cells are the malignant cells) are given immune globulin to prevent the recurrent infections these patients sometimes suffer. Use in this disorder also allows the use of aggressive chemotherapy that will destroy the patient's own cancerous antibody-producing cells.

Immune globulin is also used to treat other diseases such as Eaton-Lambert Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that sometimes occurs in association with small cell lung cancer called Eaton-Lambert syndrome, an autoimmune disease in which a patient's own antibodies attack nerve cells. The use of immune globulin appears to cause the body to reduce its own production of antibody, thereby improving the neurological disorder.

Description

Immune globulin primarily consists of antibody proteins of the type called IgG or gamma, although the solution may contain small amounts of other antibody types as well as sugars, proteins, and salt.

It is produced by pooling donated blood from at least 1000 people who have been tested to be free of blood-borne diseases like HIV or hepatitis. The antibody proteins are then separated out of the whole blood, and the pH of the immune globulin solution is adjusted to match the normal pH of blood. The preparation is also treated to remove any contaminants, including infectious bacteria or viruses.