Intravenous gamma globulins in Kawasaki disease.

Furusho, in 1983 and 1984, was the first to cure Kawasaki disease (KD) by using polyvalent intravenous immunoglobulins (IV Ig). TV Ig have now become the first line treatment for KD and they bring about a dramatic improvement in the acute phase and prevention of coronary alterations. How work IV Ig work is a complex question: specific neutralization of anti-endothelial antoantibodies can be postulated. But the main mechanism is probably immunomodulation mediated not only by the Fc portion of IV Ig, but also by numerous antibodies specifically directed against molecules of immune activation found in commercial preparations of IV Ig.