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Article: Immunologic Therapies
- Article from:
- World of Microbiology and Immunology
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Immunologic therapies
Immunologic therapy is defined as the use of medicines that act to enhance the body's immune response as a means of treating disease. The drugs can also aid in the recovery of the body from the harmful effects of immune-compromising treatments like
chemotherapy
and radiation.
Both microorganism-related infections and other maladies that are due to immune deficiency or cell growth defects are targets of immunologic therapy.
The emphasis in immunologic therapy is the application of synthetic compounds that mimic immune substances that are naturally produced in the body. For example, a compound called aldesleukin is an artificial form of interkeukin-2, a natural ...