Human blood is an essential
body fluid that carries oxygen and other important nutrients to all the body
cells. It is also responsible for flushing out of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and other waste
products from the human body. This fluid contributes almost 7-8% of human body
weight and plays a vital role in maintaining a constant body temperature. It
also helps the immune system in defense against the various attacks to diseases
from external sources. Human Blood is
a highly specialized tissue composed of more than 4,000 different kinds of
components. Four of the most important Blood Products are
red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. All these Human Blood Products helps in maintain the human life cycle
and fight against various diseases and ailments.
Gamma Globulin is also one of such Human Blood Products that is produced in the liver, while some are
made by the immune system. They are a class of globulins, identified by their
position after serum protein electrophoresis is done, which is a laboratory
test that examines specific proteins in the blood called globulins. The most
significant gamma globulins are immunoglobulins
or Igs, more commonly known as antibodies. However, some Igs are not gamma globulins, and some gamma globulins are not Igs.
Gamma Globulin is also one of the types of globulins that
are produced without any previous infection, vaccination, other foreign antigen
exposure in the liver of humans. These antibodies can activate the classical
complement pathway leading to lysis of enveloped virus particles long before
the adaptive immune response is activated. They are very beneficial when
produced in the human body for fighting against all the viruses and diseases.
Generally all humans produce these Human Blood
Products irrespective of location or
gender. But sometimes there is an excess production of these substances in the
human blood which at times can be harmful to the human body. An excess production of Gamma Globulin in human serum is known as ‘Hypergammaglobulinemia’. Also,
sometimes there is scarcity of production in the body due this deficiency is
known as ‘Hypogammaglobulinemia’. Either it is in excess or deficient human
body is prone to a disease called "gammopathy".
However, these substances can be
extracted from healthy donors and can be utilized for preparing medications and
therapies that can come useful to patients that are suffering from diseases
like gammopathy, or any other chronic disease. Gamma Globulin injections
are usually given to temporarily boost a patient's immunity against various
diseases and also are given along with blood transfusions and intravenous drug
use, to pass along Hepatitis C to the patients. These injections are most
commonly used on patients having been exposed to hepatitis A or measles, or to
make a kidney donor and recipient compatible regardless of blood type of tissue
match. These Injections are also used to boost immunity in
patients who are unable to produce gamma
globulins naturally in their body because of an immune deficiency, such as
X-linked agammaglobulinemia and hyper IgM syndrome. Such injections are less
common in modern medical practice than they were previously used as they are
now replaced by the use of hepatitis A vaccine instead.
Gamma
globulin infusions are
also used to treat some immunological diseases, such as idiopathic
thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP), a disease in which the platelets are being attacked
by antibodies, leading to seriously low platelet counts. It appears that they
cause the spleen to ignore the antibody tagged platelets, thus allowing them to
survive and function properly.
Irrespective of its type and quantity
these Human Blood Products are
working wonders in medical world by helping in development of various
medications, therapies and vaccines to help save many human lives around the
globe.
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