Reply To: rituxin (again)

good to know Laurel–guess on any immunosuppressant we would want to be right on top of any changes as they may progress quickly like that.

Lori–did you have your rituxin once a week for 4 weeks every 6 months? by a round -did you mean a series of 4 in a row? What did you experience for side effects from rituxin?

I think one of the big advantages of rituxin is that it takes out only the b cells leaving the t. so while on it I will need to be careful of cuts or fungal infections, but will not have to worry about catching everything in the air–because it doesnt work on that part of the immune system.
When I asked my Dr how it would work on cidp if it only takes out b cells, what if it was the t cells causing the cidp? she said think of it like clapping your hands—if you cut off one hand, you couldn’t clap. So im guessing that whichever you take out b or t– it confuses the immune system. hopefully enough so it cannot keep producing antibodies that attack the nerves.
I have read that b cells reproduce very quicklly, so it makes sense to get a little more improvement after each one. maybe in the “average” immune system they are all replaced in three treamtments of 1x a week for 4 weeks every 6 months 3 times. Since that seems to be the starting protocol. But..as we all know with cidp–nothing is average.