In 1953, gamma globulin was shown to prevent paralytic polio.Being a product derived from bone marrow and lymph gland cells, gamma globulin injections, along with blood transfusions and intravenous drug use, can pass hepatitis C to their recipients. Once hepatitis C was identified in 1989, blood banks began screening all blood donors for the presence of the virus in their bloodstream. However, since hepatitis C is known to have been present since at least the 1940s, a gamma globulin shot received prior to the early 1990s put the recipient at risk of being infected. Intravenous gamma globulin was FDA-approved in 2004 to reduce antibodies in a patient with kidney failure to allow that person to accept a kidney from a donor with a different blood type (ABO-incompatible), or who is an unacceptable tissue match. Stanley Jordan at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles pioneered this treatment. Pathology
An excess is known as hypergammaglobulinemia. A deficiency is known as hypogammaglobulinemia. A disease of gamma globulins is called a "gammopathy" (for example, in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance). References
External links
gamma-Globulins at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Another clinical sign of CHH, more specifically Kallmann syndrome, is a lack of a sense of smell due to the altered migration of GnRH neurons on the olfactory placode. Kallmann syndrome can also be shown through MRI imaging with irregular morphology or aplasia of the olfactory bulb and olfactory sulci. Anterior pituitary function must be normal for all other axes in CHH as it is an isolated disorder. Testing anterior pituitary function is helpful to identify if the HH is due to hyperprolactinemia. Management
The goal for HH therapy is to induce pubertal development, sexual function, fertility, bone health, and psychological wellbeing. Testosterone therapy for males and estradiol therapy for females is used to improve genital development, develop secondary sexual characteristics, allow for the growth and closure of the epiphyseal plate, as well as improving sexual function. This therapy does not restore fertility as gonadotropins are required for spermatogenesis and folliculogenesis. If fertility is desired, pulsatile GnRH therapy or gonadotropin therapy is necessary.Gonadotropin therapy involves the use of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and FSH. In the male, hCG stimulates Leydig cells to produce testosterone so that plasma and testicular levels increase. With the increased levels of testosterone, sexual activity, libido and overall wellbeing should improve. Administration of FSH is required to induce spermatogenesis by acting on Sertoli cells. FSH is required for maintaining the production of high numbers of good quality sperm.