John Cherwonogrodzky writes,
Cases of the flesh-eating disease (proteolytic streptococci?) are in the
news recently. If the disease hits people with poor immunity, can doses
of Gamma Globulin (collection of antibodies from generally resistant
population)
prevent the disease?>
Passive artificial immunization - the injection of antibodies made by a
person who is immune to a disease into a person who is ill with that
disease - was a method of treatment used against infectious bacterial
diseases in the pre-antibiotic era. While the donor's antibodies reacted
successfully with the pathogenic organisms, the recipients often came
down with "serum sickness" because they produced antibodies of their own
against the antibiodies they had received. Perhaps it might work in
patients who totally lack immune function (or are close to that point) -
they probably wouldn't get the serum sickness - but since antibodies
have a limited life span, they might have to continue to receive
injections of donor antibodies until the infection was neutralized.
Good question, this is really interesting. Does anyone out there know if
any studies have been done with passive artificial immunization in AIDS
patients?
Infectionately,
Yersinia.
"Van der waals with boughs of holly..."
