Apheresis: clinical response to patients unresponsive to conventional therapy.

Abstract

Ten of 13 (76.9%) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients having intensive cryofiltration treatment showed improvement and 5 of 7 (71.4%) of RA patients treated on maintenance cryofiltration therapy showed improvement. Encouraged by these results, 2 centers were established for controlled trial studies of RA patients. Four of 4 (100%) rheumatoid vasculitis patients treated by cryofiltration and 4 of 7 (57.1%) patients treated with plasma exchange showed clinical improvement. An SLE patient with thrombocytopenia showed a dramatic rise in platelet count during intensive (3 day/wk) plasma exchange treatments despite little prior response to drugs, platelet infusions and splenectomy. Plasmapheresis was effective in improving clinical symptoms and lipid abnormalities in a primary sclerosing cholangitis patient without causing hypoproteinemia during the long-term therapy (4 yrs).

• Authors: H Sakamoto, T Takaoka, M Usami, M Emura, K Okabe, M Matsushita, J W Smith, P S Malchesky, Y Nose
• Journal: Transactions - American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (Trans Am Soc Artif Intern Organs) Vol. 31 Pg. 704-10 ( 1985) ISSN: 0066-0078 [Print] United States
• PMID: 3837535 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Cholesterol
• Bilirubin

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Arthritis, Rheumatoid (therapy)
• Bilirubin (blood)
• Cholangitis (blood, therapy)
• Cholesterol (blood)
• Female
• Humans
• Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic (blood, complications, therapy)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Plasma Exchange
• Plasmapheresis (methods)
• Platelet Count
• Thrombocytopenia (blood, complications)
• Ultrafiltration
• Vasculitis (therapy)