intravenous immunoglobulin

noun

variants or less commonly intravenous immune globulin

: a therapeutic preparation containing antibodies and especially IgG antibodies obtained from the pooled blood plasma of usually thousands of blood donors that is administered via a vein especially to treat immunodeficiency, autoimmune, or inflammatory conditions (such as severe combined immunodeficiency, Guillain-Barré syndrome, posttransfusion purpura, or dermatomyositis)

She was treated with steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, used to reduce the severity of infections by giving the body antibodies to protect against bacteria and viruses.

Some worry that supplies of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which is made of blood plasma from donors, may run short if a clinical trial confirms its effectiveness at slowing the progress of Alzheimer's.

—Susannah Cahalan

—abbreviation IVIG

Examples of intravenous immunoglobulin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet because of the burgeoning demand for large quantities of plasma needed for products such as intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG, today no nation has a fully voluntary blood supply. —Adam Gaffney, The New Republic, 16 Aug. 2023

The trials will evaluate intravenous immunoglobulin therapy and ivabradine, a drug currently used to treat chronic heart failure in people with an elevated heart rate. —Rachel Cohrs, STAT, 31 July 2023

There are several treatments for MIS-C including anti-inflammatory medications, as well as intravenous immunoglobulin, a therapy made up of antibodies to help fight infections and reduce inflammation. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 13 July 2023

Many doctors also give the babies intravenous immunoglobulin. —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 6 July 2023

So doctors at Yale New Haven Hospital chose a treatment typically aimed at autoimmune diseases, and infused the man with intravenous immunoglobulin. —Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Oct. 2021

Padmanabhan, who is part of a group that has been tasked with developing guidance for doctors in the Mayo Clinic Health System, said intravenous immunoglobulin, a plasma-rich antibody infusion, should also be considered in combination with blood thinners. —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 16 Apr. 2021

Patients should be given anti-clotting drugs, but not heparin, and infusions of a blood product called intravenous immunoglobulin may replace the depleted platelets. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 19 Apr. 2021

Padmanabhan discovered that high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin, often called IVIG, can help treat immune reactions. —Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2021

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Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above