[Current applications of immunoglobulin therapy].

Treatment with immunoglobulins, initially taking the form of passive immunization and replacement therapy, has been successfully practiced for some time now. In recent years, the possibilities offered by monoclonal antibodies and immunomodulation by immunoglobulins have been added to the therapeutic armamentarium. These forms of therapy have proved successful in particular in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Their use in the treatment of ITP, the Guillain-Barré syndrome, myasthenia gravis and Kawasaki's disease has, in the meantime, proved successful. Other autoimmune diseases, too, in particular rheumatic diseases, also appear to respond favorable to this form of treatment. These observations, together with the belief that this form of treatment is both reliable and largely free of side effects, has resulted in attempts to use immunoglobulins to treat almost all the so-called autoimmune diseases.