Information for Patients
About Primary Immunodeficiency Disease (PIDD)
The immune system acts to protect the body against infection.11
These infections may be due to bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. The immune
system uses lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell), immunoglobulins (antibodies),
and other cells to fight these foreign invaders.12
When a person has an immune deficiency, one or more parts of the immune system fail
to work. If a person is born with this condition, it is called primary immunodeficiency
disease (PIDD). 4,11
People with primary immunodeficiency disease have difficulty fighting off infections,
due to inadequate antibody production.12
If a person's body lacks immunoglobulin, a replacement immunoglobulin can be given.
This replacement immunoglobulin has been extracted from carefully screened donated
human plasma (the liquid portion of blood). When a person is given a replacement
immunoglobulin, it is called immunoglobulin therapy, or immunotherapy for short.4,8
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About Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
Another type of immune disorder is immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a bleeding
disorder that often causes purple bruises on the skin. ITP also may cause life-threatening
bleeding in the brain or other organs.4
To understand ITP, it’s best to define each of the terms that make up its name.
Immune refers to the fact that the immune system mistakenly attacks certain cells
in a person’s own blood. Thrombocytopenic (throm-bo-cy-toe-PEE-nick) indicates
that the illness is related to low levels of thrombocytes, also called platelets.
These are fragments of cells in our blood that help stop bleeding. And purpura (PURR-purr-ah)
refers to the purplish-looking bruised areas of the skin where bleeding has occurred.13
There are two forms of ITP: acute, which occurs most commonly in children and lasts
for less than six months; and chronic, which generally affects adults between the
ages of 20 and 40. Privigen is indicated for the treatment of chronic ITP. Chronic
ITP lasts longer because patients may suffer from repeated bleeding attacks (relapses).13
Immunoglobulin therapy is used as a treatment to increase platelet counts in order
to help control bleeding.7
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About Immunoglobulin Therapy
Immune globulin (Ig), also known as gammaglobulin, immunoglobulin, or immune serum
globulin, has been used over the past half century for the treatment and prevention
of various diseases.7
Today, three routes of administration for Ig are approved in the United States:
intravenous (IV, or through the vein), intramuscular (IM, or into the muscle), and,
most recently, subcutaneous (SC, or under the skin).4 Privigen is only indicated for IV use.
Intravenous immunoglobulin is usually administered once every three or four weeks.
Typically, a nurse in a hospital, in an infusion center, in a physician’s office,
or in the patient's home administers therapy. IV infusions require a pole holding
a bag of medication, a needle that's inserted into a vein in the arm, and an infusion
pump that controls how much of and how fast the medication is delivered.
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