Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Kawasaki syndrome and RSV infection are common illnesses that afflict infants and young children. Recent studies demonstrate that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment significantly reduces the clinical severity of these illnesses. The purpose of the current review will be initially to examine mechanisms of disease pathogenesis in KS and RSV infection. This will be followed by a discussion of the potential mechanisms by which IVIG acts in these two illnesses. In both KS and RSV prophylaxis, an important action by which IVIG may work is primarily through toxin or microbial neutralization resulting in the dampening or prevention of the inflammatory response. Other immunomodulatory actions of IVIG are likely to be operative in these diseases and will be an active area of future research.