[Prophylaxis and therapy with human immunoglobulins]

The supply of human immunoglobulin preparations (Ig) is steadily increasing. On the one hand, the wide range of specificities of the so-called hyper-Ig is broadening, on the other hand, the structural variety of Ig contained in the preparations and their fragments is increasing (intact IgG, Fab, F(ab')2 fragments, desaggregation, inactivation of the complement binding site). Specificity and structure of Ig are important for the efficacy, kind of application, amount and intervals of dosage and for compatibility. Therefore, an exact knowledge of the preparation becomes more and more necessary for reasonably applying it. The development of modern IgG preparations with intravenous compatibility and intact Fc-part providing the possibility for the application of a high dosage require "old" indications to be re-examined by clinically controlled investigations, thus opening new ways to an improved efficacy in applying Ig in the prophylaxis and therapy of infections as well as to new areas of indication by recognising the immunomodulatory effects, e.g. autoimmunopathies.