| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2003 | Volume
: 51
| Issue : 4 | Page : 487--489 |
Intravenous immunoglobulin reduces serum tumor necrosis factor a in patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome
S Reuben1, MG Sumi1, A Mathai1, MD Nair2, VV Radhakrishnan1
1 Departments of Pathology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram - 695011, India
2 Departments of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram - 695011, India
Correspondence Address:
V V Radhakrishnan
Department of Pathology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram - 695011
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
Background: Tumor necrosis factor a TNF-alpha has a possible role in the pathogenesis of the Guillain-Barre’ syndrome (GBS). Aims: To study the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) on serum TNF-alpha concentrations in patients with GBS. Material and Methods: The effect of IVIg on TNF-alpha was evaluated in 36 patients with GBS. Serum TNF-alpha concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The sera of 22 (61%) patients with GBS showed elevated concentrations of TNF-alpha (35–182 pg/ml) and these sera were individually incubated in vitro with IVIg (0.25mg/ml) at 37°C for 24 hours. Results: The serum TNF-alpha concentrations in the 22 GBS patients with elevated levels showed a steady decline (60.34—19.78 pg/ml) following incubation with IVIg. These 22 patients also received IVIg therapy, and serum TNF-alpha concentrations showed a significant decline (65.5—9.75 pg/ml) at the end of the therapy. At the time of discharge from the hospital, there was a positive correlation between neurological recovery and decline in TNF-alpha concentrations in these 22 GBS patients. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that elevated levels of TNF-alpha occur in a proportion of patients with GBS and in these patients elevated serum TNF-alpha levels decline with IVIg therapy.
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