Multiple Sclerosis: Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG)

Topic Overview

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a medicine often used to boost the body's immune system and make it better able to fight disease. It is made from donated blood fluids.

Treatment with IVIG may improve function and lengthen the time before a relapse in people who have relapsing-remitting MS.^{footnote 1} It does not seem to help slow the progression of MS.^{footnote 2}

IVIG can also lengthen the time before a second attack in people who take it after the first attack.^{footnote 1}

But IVIG is extremely expensive, not widely available, and not considered practical for long-term treatment of MS. It sometimes may be used to treat a severe relapse if you either cannot take or do not respond to corticosteroids.

The safety of IVIG during pregnancy and breastfeeding is not known. Talk to your doctor if you are planning a pregnancy, if you are pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding.