A double-blind, cross-over trial of intravenous immunoglobulin G in multiple sclerosis: preliminary results

We enrolled 25 patients with relapsing-remitting or relapsing progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study of intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG). IVIG 1 g/kg daily for 2 days was administered every 4 weeks for 24 weeks. Seventeen patients completed the whole trial, whereas eight patients discontinued the trial; four during IVIG treatment and four on placebo. Of the 17 patients who completed the trial, 11 had no exacerbations during IVIG treatment compared with only six on placebo (P=O.05). The total number of exacerbations in the IVIG period was 11 and in the placebo period 15 (NS), and the number of severe exacerbations requiring treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone was four during treatment with IVIG and six on placebo (NS). The results suggest that IVIG treatment may be of benefit for prevention of exacerbations in patients with relapsing MS.