To investigate the efficacy of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in the treatment of refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Ten patients with active, severe RA that was unresponsive to first- and second-line agents were administered IVIg monthly, for 6 months.
Following IVIg treatment, there was significant improvement in both subjective and objective parameters of disease activity in all 9 patients who completed the protocol. This improvement was noted to occur as early as after the second infusion of IVIg. After discontinuation of the treatment, all patients had a relapse of the disease within a few weeks.
Since the reduction in clinical activity paralleled a decrease in the CD4+CDw29+:CD4+CD45RA+ cell ratio, some of the therapeutic benefits associated with IVIg may be due to a direct influence on the CD4+CD45RA+ subset. Although the possibility of carrying out further controlled studies on a larger scale is limited by the high cost of the treatment, IVIg appears to be an effective therapy for refractory RA.