According to a research found in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, severe asthma patients can greatly benefit from intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy because it was noted to reduce a patient’s sensitivity to steroids as well as it lowers emergency or hospitalization use.

During a 6-month period of study, it was noted that severe asthma patients administered with IVIG therapy had lesser incidence of confinement in hospitals and lesser trips to the emergency room. They were also found to use less glucocorticoids, or generally known as steroids. IVIG was effective both in patients who exhibit steroid insensitivity as well as those who respond normally to steroids. Researchers consider the effect of IVIG in reducing lung sensitivity to glucocorticoids as the reason behind this.

Aside from these benefits, IVIG is also considered to be non-toxic. Although it also has some side effects to it, side effects were still moderate compared to steroids’. Among the detrimental effects of steroids were suppression of bone growth in children and osteoporosis.

IVIG treatment costs a thousand dollars more than the usual method of asthma treatment but it is sure to improve the patient’s quality of life.

According to Eurekalert:

DENVER-People with severe asthma who are “insensitive” to steroids need less of the medication, fewer “bursts” of it in emergencies and spend less time in the hospital when using intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in conjunction with steroids, according to research published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Tags:  asthma, intravenous immunoglobulin

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