Mar. 19, 1999 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. Researchers
found that during the 6-month study, patients had fewer
hospitalizations for asthma attacks than in the 6 months prior
to the study, even though they used less glucocorticoids, known
generally as steroids. IVIG also was as effective in people
whose asthma can be treated with glucocorticoids, as it was in
people whose asthma usually doesn't respond to glucocorticoids,
or who are "steroid-insensitive." Researchers believe IVIG
increases steroid sensitivity of the lungs to steroids, in part,
by reducing lung inflammation. "We saw patients whose asthma
does very poorly and who needed high doses of steroids to
control the disease," said Erwin Gelfand, M.D., a ped