What is therapeutic plasmapheresis?
Therapeutic plasmapheresis is a medical procedure designed to purify blood by removing plasma, while preserving blood cells, and replacing it with plasma from human donors or artificial plasma substitutes. This technique is used to eliminate harmful proteins or antibodies. It is applied in a variety of diseases, including the following:
- Myasthenia gravis
- Guillain-Barré syndrome or acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP)
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP)
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's disease)
- Syndrome de Goodpasture
- Cryoglobulinemia
- Hyperviscosity syndromes, such as Waldenström's disease or multiple myeloma (Kahler's disease).
What is therapeutic plasma exchange?
Therapeutic plasma exchange is similar to therapeutic plasmapheresis, but is not limited to the removal of harmful proteins. Its main aim is to supply the patient with the proteins he or she needs. Here are a few examples of diseases for which plasma exchange can be used:
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis or Wegener's disease with pulmonary hemorrhage
- Goodpasture's disease with pulmonary hemorrhage
- Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
- Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS)