#intravenous immunoglobulin

Researchers look at the use of intravenous immunoglobulin for treatment of Kawasaki disease and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare reaction to SARS-CoV-2

Kawasaki disease (KD) is rare, with fewer than 6,000 diagnosed cases per year in the United States. It is most common in infants and young children and causes inflammation in the walls of some blood vessels in the body. KD is a common cause of acquired heart disease in children around the world, causing coronary artery aneurysms in a quarter of untreated children.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is also rare, a life-threatening illness that follows exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). MIS-C is characterized by the acute onset of fever and variable symptoms, including rash, cardiovascular complications, shock and gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

KD and MIS-C share several clinical features and immune responses. Both conditions are treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a therapeutic containing antibodies purified from blood products. Antibodies in the blood protect us from a number of viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens, but when administered as IVIG, can also suppress excessive inflammation. How it does this is an ongoing area of research worldwide.

In a pair of new studies, published online October 26 and August 31, 2021, two collaborating teams of researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine examined the use of IVIG in two groups; one group used a second dose of IVIG in children with KD who do not respond to the first dose of the drug, and the other group used IVIG as an effective treatment for MIS-C.

“Our research teams looked further into KD to improve treatment, and then used what we know about that disease to advance science in another illness,” said senior author Jane C. Burns, MD, professor and director of the Kawasaki Disease Research Center at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.

“Same Treatment Tested for Kids with Kawasaki Disease and Rare COVID-19 Reaction”