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How much does intralipid therapy cost?

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2 fertility expert(s) answered this question

Answer from: Dimitris Papanikolaou, MD

Gynaecologist, Founder and Clinical Director at Life Clinic Athens
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I have a good history about it that you might like. When I was in London basically I learnt to deal with the immune system with immunoglobulins IVIg. Coming to Greece, I realised that if I will say to a Greek that it costs like this and you will need probably 5 or 6 of them, they will say, I probably prefer to be without a baby. I thought, I have to do something about it. I started investigating how the IVIg works and then somewhere, suddenly I read about somebody in the States that used intralipids to treat the same problems. I saw no difference in the safety, I saw the difference in everything and told myself “you have to deal with it”. Since then, I believe they have a common way of action, both of them. How do these things work? The IVIg is a fluid that has concentrated antibodies in there, Ig antibodies taken from somebody. The key point is the “concentrate” – when I was reading about it, I learnt that the fluid has high osmolarity. Osmolarity means that it is very dense – is like you dissolve sugar in the water, water becomes dense. Intralipid is exactly the same thing. I think I was the first one that used intralipid in Europe back in 2008. I used it for that reason they selected to use intralipid 20% because there are variations 10%, 20%, 30%. The solution with highest osmolarity is the 20%. Let me explain the difference between IVIg and Intralipids. First one is fluid packed with antibodies -small balls -this is what increases the osmolarity. The other is another fluid packed again with small balls but fatty balls. Since I came back from England, I have used IVIg very few times IVIg and I believe there is no reason to use the IVIg because intralipids work exactly the same way.

Answer from: Ioannis John Toliopoulos, PhD

Immunologist, Clinicolaboratorial Physiology, Reproductive immunology, President of Konstantinion Research Center of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology
Konstantinion Research Center of Molecular Medicine & Biotechnology non-profit Foundation (KRC)
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The cost of Intralipid therapy depends on the diagnostic solution. If a couple goes on IVF trial we perform at least one or two infusions and then one when we have a successful pregnancy so maximum three infusions for the IVF trial. The cost can be from 100 to 300 euro because it is not a specific cost or high number from such a solution that has no side effects.
If the couple is proceeding with natural conception, then the infusion is done every 8 weeks, every 2 months – then we repeat the infusion till you have a successful pregnancy. We have seen situations when couples conceived naturally after one infusion, others with two infusions after 3-4 months and others after 8 months. It depends on the situation and if all the parameters for the sperm and of the immune status of the woman.

About this question:

Are the Intralipids far less expensive than Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG)?

If we compare initial studies of efficacy efficacy for deactivation of natural killer cells and pregnancy rates of Intralipids and Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG), we learn that the outcomes are similar. How about the cost? Here things are significantly different as the therapy with IVIG is as close as 10 times more expensive.

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