Human immunoglobulins in therapy. Rationale and clinical applications

The use of immunoglobulins (Ig) for therapeutic pupropses can be attribuited historically to the pioneering studies of Emil von Behring who, exactly a century ago, showed how patients with tetanus or diphtheria could acquire a passive immunity after administration of the serum from horses immunized with tetanus or diphtheria toxin, respectively. This procedure, however, had the disadvantage of a high frequency of side-effects, arising in particular from the animal origin of the protective serum and thus from its antigenicity in the recipient. [...]