The History of Convalescent Serum and the Story of the Antibody, Part 1

ByAdam J. Brown, MD

COVID-19 has brought up the use of the old remedy convalescent serum. What is it? Did it work? This series walks us through the history of the serum, how it was discovered, how it was first used, and how it inspired the field of immunology.

Intro :11
In this episode :15
A quick tale :20
Outline of these three episodes 2:51
Quick definitions 3:50
How it all began 7:16
A solo paper on diphtheria 12:57
A trial of children 17:07
Giving fluids from a horse 21:57
What happened with tetanus? 25:12
Switching gears to our understanding of antibodies 27:09
The next target: snakes 29:17
The plague 32:00
Summary of Part 1, what’s next 39:05

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Brown at rheuminationspodcast@healio.com. Follow us on Twitter @HRheuminations @AdamJBrownMD @HealioRheum

References:

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Klass, Perri. “An Apocryphal Christmas Miracle.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/well/family/diphtheria-antitoxin-Christmas-miracle.html.

Lindenmann J. Scand J Immunol. 1984;19:281-285.

Meyer KF, et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1952;55:1228-1274.

Ramon G. Bull Soc Centr Med Vet. 1925;101:227-234.

von Behring, Emil. Geschichte der Diphtherie (mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Immunitätslehre). Leipzig, Germany, Thieme, 1893.

von Behring E. Ueber das Zustandekommen der Diphtherie-Immunität und der Tetanus-Immunität bei Thieren. German Medical Weekly; 1890.

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Sources/Disclosures

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Disclosures: Brown reports no relevant financial disclosures.

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The History of Convalescent Serum and the Story of the Antibody, Part 1

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