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Guide to treatment of
autoimmune diseases.
The treatment for all the
autoimmune diseases is similar. These diseases are caused by
inflammation, triggered by bacteria, viruses or chemicals. To reduce
inflammation. You can choose drugs or non drugs (herbal, homeopathic
or natural) treatments. The cornerstone for treatment in the past
has been steroids which are fast out the door due to their side
effect profile. However if use steroids on alternate days and in
small doses they still can provide adequate treatment. If people get
one red eye it is almost always due to inflammation and quickly
responds to steroid drops in a day. Autoimmune ear disease responds
quickly to steroids placed in the inner ear. But intravenous
steroids will help too

. Oral steroids cause many side effects so
should only be used for a short time. Steroids will stop the
inflammatory attack but then one has to uncover the reason for the
attack the protein, virus, bacteria (mycoplasma)! In every
autoimmune disease a foreign protein antigen is triggering the
disease it need to be indentified and removed all these details you
will find in the disease pages or the Flame within E-Book.
Begin treatment with diet modifications described
in the diet chapter. The next step will be to avoid toxins. If the
disease was caused by exposure to diesel fumes then the patient
should avoid them. Avoid pesticides if you are a farmer in New
Zealand spraying your field and you can smell the toxin, they
end up getting CIDP or Parkinsons. A farmer in Bangladesh and
Northern India is exposed to high Arsenic exposure in the ground
water. The high arsenic is brought about by excessive pesticide
usage. This will cause and trigger many autoimmune diseases. The
farmers in Vietnam are exposed to the deadly agent orange used in
the Vietnam Era wars.
The next step in medications is supplements like vitamin-D,
vitamin B-12, Folate, Thiamine, B-6 (careful with B-6)) they are
usually available in a sublingual tablet. If you read our
e-book you see we recommend foods as alternative to these vitamins.
The vitamins help overcome many problems like in celiac disease
there is always a Vitamin B-12 and iron deficiency. People with
Sjogrens have a B-12 deficiency.
Steroids are the fasted acting drug will bring in quick recovery
then other treatments can be used. IVIg brings a very fast recovery
in Kawasaki disease, CIDP, GBS if used very early in the treatment.
IVIg will help MS, myasthenia. Many patients with Myasthenia have
responded to Thymectomy because in Myasthenia often there are tumors
of the thymus. Steroids reduce inflammation quickly and for short
peroid are excellent treatment but if you prefer long term natural
treatment use Omega-3 Fatty acids which reduce inflammation.
Before trying any drugs, please try a different diet, all people
should shift to a gluten free diet please see the celiac section for
advice. Again everyone should give up milk unless it is non
pasteurized milk. We recommend a total vegetarian diet mainly brown
rice, potatoes and fresh fruit juices, salads. All your diet should
be fresh and no processed foods like chips.
Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) has also been found to be
beneficial. in CIDP treatment. IVIG is usually given in divided
doses over 4 or 5 consecutive days at a total dose of 2g/kg.
If the total infusion can be given in two large doses it works
better for the patient. It is recommended that for all the
neurological disorders the dose of IVIg should be 2gm/kg. The cost
and procedure of IVIg is cumbersome many of our patients have
improved simple by alternatives no IVIg involved. These alternatives
are described in the E-Book in its third edition and a treasure.
Maintenance doses of IVIg are often needed at monthly intervals
to maintain clinical response. Serious side effects of IVIG
treatment include, (fatal anaphylaxis in IgA-deficient patients seen
in {In patients who have anti IgA antibodies}. I
recommend that before the infusion the total IgA level be measured.
If the level is below 58 then anti IgA ANTIBODIES NEED TO BE
MEASURED. However a case has been reported with IgA LEVEL of 58 who
later developed IgA reaction. So a careful history should be taken
of all patients first starting IVIg. If the lab reports IgA <20 IT
MAY BE SAFE TO ASSUME THAT IT IS ZERO. Not Always. Check the
patients history! ( Who is your IVIg PROVIDER)? Learn to give IVIg
safely, learn the secrets!
Potential nephrotoxicity (renal failure) risk from IVIg exists,
especially in patients with pre-existing renal disease. FDA issued
this advisory when lots of patients developed nephrotoxicity. FDA
also issued recalls after Hepatitis was induced after the use of
IVIg. This led to a nationwide IVIg shortage. A nurse from a
prominent IVIg company contacted us and informed us that when she
was administering IVIg she noticed a yellowish discoloration , she
said that she did not want to infuse the product however she did.
The patient spent 6 days in the hospital with a terrible headache (aspetic
meningitis). Then the patients physical condition was weak. The risk
is there and there are simpler ways to treat Multiple Sclerosis so
please read our e-book and follow the treatment protocols.
For patients resistant to IVIg therapy one needs to check
if the dose being given is correct. If the dose has been 2g/kg then
one can consider alternate with steroids and IVIg. If that does not work
then Cyclophosphamide, Rituxan, Cyclosporin can be considered.
IVIg is used as a rescue therapy or first line agent and then a
second line agent is started like cyclosporin. In time this becomes
the agent of choice for chronic maintenance.
For very simple treatment of your autoimmune disorder which can
be done with a oral course of medication available any part of
planet earth see the Flame within contents. The modern biological
treatments are a wonder and have helped people with arthritis and
vasculitis. Stem cell treatments have helped many people but they
are cumbersome and expensive. Your life span may be reduced by stem
cell transplant.
Have any questions or need help then
please see services section
| Neurology. 1998 Dec;51(6 Suppl 5):S16-21. |
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Treatment of chronic inflammatory
demyelinating polyneuropathy with intravenous immunoglobulin.
Hahn AF. University of Western Ontario,
London Health Sciences Centre, Canada.
IVIg, therapeutic plasma exchange (PE), and prednisone, are of proven
benefit. Comparative studies indicate that IVIg and PE confer equal
short-term benefit. Efficacy of IVIg is maintained; regularly timed
pulse treatments may stabilize relapsing CIDP. The combination of
IVIg and prednisone may be advantageous in long-term management.
Despite the high cost, IVIg is considered the preferred first
treatment. The safety profile is similar to that reported for other
conditions; close monitoring during the infusion is recommended.
| Neurology. 2002 Dec 24;59(12 Suppl 6):S33-40. |
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Intravenous gammaglobulin (IVIg)
for treatment of CIDP and related immune-mediated neuropathies.
Brannagan TH 3rd.
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College
of Cornell NYC
Intravenous immune globulin (IVIg) is considered an effective and safe
treatment for autoimmune neuropathies, especially in comparison to
the alternative treatments such as corticosteroids, chemotherapy,
and plasmapheresis. .To conclude, CIDP is a very variable condition. It is auto-immune
and is treatable. It is exceptional for CIDP not to respond to at
least one of the available drugs. The first choice of treatment is
either prednisolone or IVIg. The diagnosis is difficult, much less
so than GBS, depending critically on the nerve conduction studies
and neuro-physiologies. Trials for immuno-suppression have shown
promise. ..........
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