{"id":15169,"date":"2020-09-26T23:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T03:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=15169"},"modified":"2020-10-01T13:00:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T17:00:35","slug":"ivig-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ivig-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"IVIG Administration: $20K for Other People’s Antibodies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is IVIG administration? What is IVIG treatment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IVIG administration or IVIG infusion is a treatment for immune disorders. Healthy antibodies from donors are given to a sick patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See how doctors recommended IVIG administration for Susannah and what the results were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Autoimmune Disorders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unbeknownst to Susannah\u2019s family, Siegel asked Najjar to join Susannah\u2019s team. Najjar has a track record of solving a number of mystery cases, and Siegel has confessed that he\u2019s stumped by Susannah\u2019s case. Based on Siegel\u2019s expert summary, Najjar suggests that Susannah might have viral encephalitis. Without seeing her, he prescribes an antiviral drug and recommends testing Susannah for viral encephalitis, caused by a herpes virus. Again, all the tests come back negative.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Najjar next suggests that Susannah\u2019s condition might be an autoimmune response. He immediately puts Susannah on IVIG treatment, a protocol he used successfully on another patient. On April 2, a nurse arrives to give Susannah the first of five IVIG infusions. Hallucinating that the nurse is responsible for her illness, Susannah punches her in the chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is IVIG Treatment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Under normal conditions, our immune system creates antibodies to combat infections from foreign invaders like viruses or bacteria. On rare occasions, the immune system manufactures antibodies that attack cells or tissues in a person\u2019s own body. When this happens, the person develops an autoimmune disease<\/a> like lupus, multiple sclerosis<\/a>, or the type of brain inflammation that Susannah suffered from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IVIG infusions contain healthy antibodies from thousands of blood donors. Each infusion costs more than $20,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Receiving IVIG Administration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Susannah receives her second course of IVIG treatments. By this time, she\u2019s become catatonic. Her brain cells are misfiring, making it impossible for her to sense her body in space. She sits in awkward poses. Her speech has degraded even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By this time, Susannah is constantly drooling and smacking her lips, even in her sleep. She stares straight ahead, as if sleeping with her eyes open, her tongue hanging out. The IVIG administration efforts aren\u2019t working. Dr. Siegel is no longer on the case, and Dr. Najjar<\/a> hasn\u2019t even shown up. What will prevent the other doctors from giving up too?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is IVIG administration? What is IVIG treatment? IVIG administration or IVIG infusion is a treatment for immune disorders. Healthy antibodies from donors are given to a sick patient. See how doctors recommended IVIG administration for Susannah and what the results were.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,16],"tags":[130],"class_list":["post-15169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-health","tag-brain-on-fire","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nIVIG Administration: $20K for Other People's Antibodies - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Before she had a confirmed diagnosis, Susannah's doctor suggested she get an IVIG infusion. Each IVIG administration costs $20k. 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