Indications
Anti-Thymocyte Globulin is an immunoglobulin G. Doctors use it to prevent and to treat acute rejection in patients who have received a kidney transplant. It must be given together with other immunosuppressive medicines.
⚠️ Always consult a registered physician before taking any medicine.
Pharmacology
Nobody fully understands how polyclonal antilymphocyte preparations suppress the immune response. For Anti-Thymocyte Globulin, the possible ways it may cause immunosuppression in vivo include clearing T-cells from the circulation and changing how T-cells are activated, how they home to tissues, and how they carry out cytotoxic activity.
Anti-Thymocyte Globulin contains antibodies against T-cell markers such as CD2, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD11a, CD18, CD25, CD44, CD45, HLA-DR, HLA Class I heavy chains, and ß2 micro-globulin. In vitro, at concentrations above 0.1 mg/mL (written in the original as >0.1 mg/mL), it suppresses T-cells by inhibiting their proliferative responses to several mitogens.
In patients, T-cell depletion is usually seen within a day after Anti-Thymocyte Globulin therapy starts. The medicine has not been shown to work for treating antibody-mediated (humoral) rejections.
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Animal reproduction studies haven't been done with Anti-Thymocyte Globulin, and it isn't known whether the medicine can harm an unborn baby. A pregnant woman should be given Anti-Thymocyte Globulin only if the benefit outweighs the risk.
Anti-Thymocyte Globulin has not been studied in nursing women, and it isn't known whether the drug passes into human milk. Other immunoglobulins do pass into human milk, so breastfeeding should be stopped during Anti-Thymocyte Globulin therapy.
⚠️ Talk to your doctor before taking any medicine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Dosage Reference
⚠️ Reference ranges from official sources only. Consult your doctor for personalized dosing.